I had one of the worst interview experiences I’ve ever encountered with Cobalt. After a 30-minute first-round interview, I was told I had moved on to the second stage, which was an in-person demonstration of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales platform. The Associate Director of Customer Success & Support specifically said, “Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!” So I did — when none of the proposed times worked for me, I reached out to coordinate another date. I followed up, waited, and received absolutely no response. Then, out of nowhere, I was flat-out rejected. No reply, no clarification, just silence until the rejection came through. For a company to ask candidates to invest this much time and preparation and then completely ghost them is unprofessional and inconsiderate. I was assured by the Associate Director of Customer Success & Support that they are very responsive and communicative with candidates. It felt like my time, effort, and communication meant nothing to them.
If this is how they treat people during the interview process, I can’t imagine how they treat employees or clients. Good luck interviewing with them — especially if you need any accommodations. You’ll be on your own.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
- Do you enjoy working virtually?
- What did you dislike about your past job?
I successfully passed the first round of the C# online assessment but was rejected after the first round of the virtual interview. The interview itself was a straightforward combination of technical concept questions and behavioral questions based on my past experience.
This was the first time an interviewer told me I should be able to progress to the next round, only for me to be rejected before that even happened. While I am perfectly fine with being rejected for any job application, I feel that giving candidates false hope and making promises that can't be kept are not good practices.
After I requested feedback regarding their decision, given that I had been told I should move forward, they responded by saying they felt I did not maintain a positive or gracious tone during the feedback request or in the previous interview. Upon reflecting on this, I acknowledge that there may have been a tone issue when requesting feedback after the rejection, but I don't believe this was an issue during the interview itself. Anyone who knows me can attest that I am always respectful and professional unless I feel treated unfairly. Additionally, I don't believe this was the true reason for my rejection, and I feel that it contradicts their company value of "Transparency."
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Questions about OOP concepts & past project experience on the resume
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Cobalt
Interview
My interview process at Cobalt was very comprehensive but it went smoothly and HR was very communicative throughout. The whole process is 4 rounds of interviews, where 3 of 4 are pretty standard interviews and one is a demo/presentation. The first interview was an HR phone screen to make sure you meet basic qualifications. The second interview was with the Director of Consulting and is a 30 minute video interview. This was a pretty standard interview, where they asked about my background, qualifications, and why I was interested in the position but it was pretty conversational - not reading off of a script. The third interview is a demo/presentation of the Microsoft product that Cobalt uses. If you have experience with this product, this portion of the interview should not be too difficult but still requires a few hours of preparation. I did not have experience with this product and thus spent many hours learning about the product before the demo. The demo is followed with some time for questions - most of these questions were not technical or related to the product, but rather how you arrived at your answers and what resources were used to prepare. It felt like this portion of the interview was very important for them to determine how you work, learn, and respond to ambiguous requirements. This is also important for candidates to assess whether they enjoy working with the product. The final interview was the following day and was pretty lighthearted, mostly just answering any final questions and tying up loose ends. I was provided an offer during this interview.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What resources did you use to prepare for the demo?