I recently interviewed for the Sr. iOS Engineer position at Busbud. While the opportunity itself seemed exciting, my experience with the interview process left me with mixed feelings due to several challenges.
The recruiter initially expressed enthusiasm about my background, stating that it was impressive. This gave me confidence about my fit for the role.
During the second round, I appreciated being given a choice between a live coding session and a take-home assignment, which allowed me to choose the option that best suited my strengths and schedule.
Communication from the recruiter was inconsistent throughout the process. I often had to follow up to get updates, especially after submitting my take-home assignment. Clear and timely updates would have improved the experience significantly.
After submitting my assignment, I asked for specific feedback to understand areas for improvement. Unfortunately, I only received vague responses, such as "the test was OK," without actionable insights. This lack of transparency made it hard to assess how my performance aligned with their expectations.
The take-home assignment required candidates to fork the repository and raise a pull request. This exposed other candidates’ submissions, creating a potential bias or unfair comparison. Upon reviewing others' submissions, I noticed that my solution handled edge cases and error scenarios better than some others. This added to my concern that my submission might not have been thoroughly reviewed.
The timeline for completing the take-home assignment was not clearly defined, leaving me uncertain about expectations. The vague instruction to "get back ASAP" added unnecessary ambiguity.
I respect Busbud’s decision to move forward with another candidate, but I believe a more structured and transparent interview process could improve the experience for future applicants. Despite the challenges, I appreciate the opportunity to interview and hope that my feedback contributes to enhancing their process in the future.
