You don't have to do it. Depends on how desperate you are for it. I've had a successful 10+ year career in web dev in the UK. I've always avoided places that ha

You don't have to do it. Depends on how desperate you are for it. I've had a successful 10+ year career in web dev in the UK. I've always avoided places that had a technical interview, it's a phobia of mine. I've landed multiple contracts without any technical interview, a couple of them from just an informal chat. I once kept rejecting an interview for a company that specified a tech test, then 6 months after they first contacted, the recruiter said they'd dropped the tech test, I phone interviewed then went in and got the job. Granted these are not the FAANG type places that Americans seem to be so obsessed over, but they look good on a UK CV and every contract I worked on was >£100k pa. I have never had any desire for prestige-type positions, what matters to me is an interesting project where I can develop skills, good rate, and good working environment. Ultimately the high rates of these contracts allowed me to work less and ultimately enjoy freedom which is my main goal.