Bizarre experience to say the least.
After the initial phone screening interview which felt more like a sales pitch (especially after I asked about the recent employee downsizing), there was an on-site interview that started with HR asking me to ask questions (who does that this early in the process?) which continued with an interview with 2 developers who were more nervous than me in front of the HR (I literally encouraged them there). They were definitely not prepared as they did not have much idea what to ask me and I ended up asking them more questions. Maybe they were not even aware of the interview taking place until the last minute? Tour around the office and then was required to fill out a 2-page questionnaire with bio info (most of what was already in the resume). While sitting there, I overheard the HR lady proudly commenting to others how she likes candidates to ask her questions about the company "because that shows their genuine interest in the company". Tip: you want to do that later in the process, not before any real, technical interviews. Nobody cares about 3 week PTO if they don't know if there is any possibility of employment there or if do they like the company.
I was then asked to take the "personality test" online which turned out to be 3 tests: aptitude, minicog rapid assessment and personality test. Meeting with a VP of app developer later in a coffee shop who pointed out that the tests showed that my logical thinking isn't the best and that they would like to see some code samples of mine. Oh yes, did I mention that this same person was supposed to be present during my on-site interview? :) They also wanted to start the background check. Since there was no info provided about the next step I figured I would send some code samples. They confirmed receiving it. Aaaaand... that was it. No communication later whatsoever. The job ad was refreshed two weeks later.
For someone getting that far in the process, sending a copy-paste of no offer is a matter of a professional courtesy. Especially for the company of this size. Having interviewed with the companies in the same area and California, this company seems more like a very early start-up in a sense that there seems to be zero established processes to do things than supposedly a serious enterprise-level company.
I strongly advise any developer to not waste their time with them. In the age of developer's job market, this treatment is absolutely unacceptable. There are FAR better companies out there who at least have an idea how to interview their candidates. To the company, I wholeheartedly wish good luck.
