I don’t usually leave interview feedback unless there’s a specific reason, but I felt it was important to share my experience in this case.
Overall, the initial stages of the interview process were very positive. My conversations with the recruiter and the hiring manager were engaging, respectful, and well-structured. I genuinely appreciated the opportunity to connect, and those interactions left me with a strong first impression of the company.
The coding challenge, however, was a mixed experience. One of the interviewers conducted the session in a professional and constructive manner, clearly pointing out gaps in my knowledge while maintaining a positive, learning-focused environment. That part of the interview felt fair and valuable.
Unfortunately, my experience with the second interviewer was quite uncomfortable. From my perspective, they appeared unprepared and unfamiliar with my background, asking questions that were already clearly answered in my CV (for example, about my years of experience as a Team Lead). I was interrupted multiple times while answering, particularly when my responses didn’t align with expectations, and some reactions came across as sarcastic or dismissive.
I also found it challenging that when I asked for clarification or answers to some of the questions being posed, the interviewer struggled to provide them. In one instance, a design decision I made was mocked, even though the aspects being criticized were outside the original challenge requirements. While I understand the importance of high standards and critical thinking, it’s difficult to deliver a “perfect” solution without clear context around the use case or target audience. Overall, the interaction felt more focused on criticism than on a constructive technical discussion.
Additionally, the interview ended about 10 minutes early without time allocated for me to ask questions, which further contributed to the negative impression.
