I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Exasol (Chennai) in Mar 2026
Interview
I participated the interview process for Senior Devops role which happened over Mar-Apr 2026. I was based out of Bangalore and I approved of relocation to Chennai if hired.
Pre-interview round-1: The consulting company initially contacted me and they provide a huge questionnaire filled with questions suitable for Devops/SRE/Platform engineer role.
Pre-interview round-2: They sent an invite for a code challenge with 2 weeks time to work on it. I completed the round successfully and entered to the 1st round of interview.
1st round: It was a quick call to have an understanding on my background and skills.
2nd round: This round was 1.5 hours long and it involved a complete and deeper assessment of my skills and knowledge. I performed well and feedback was positive.
3rd round: 1 hr long interview taken by someone from Germany. I performed well and feedback was positive
4th round: This was a manager round and he asked me why I was interested in this job. I said I was interested in those items that are mainly highlighted in the questionnaire that I was initially contacted with. I was immediately rejected saying this is for a different role.
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Exasol
Interview
The recruitment process progressed rapidly. It began with a coding challenge that was both engaging and demanding. Subsequently, I interviewed with a group manager, focusing on in-depth C++ questions, and concluded the process by meeting with the team lead.
I applied online. I interviewed at Exasol in Feb 2026
Interview
I was invited to complete a coding challenge as part of the interview process. The instructions mentioned that after successful completion and evaluation, candidates would move forward to the next rounds.
The challenge involved implementing a TLS client and solving a Proof-of-Work (PoW) task that required generating a SHA-1 hash with 9 leading hexadecimal zeros. It was a technically demanding task that required careful optimization and computational effort. I took the challenge very seriously and spent about five days working on it before successfully completing it.
However, it has now been more than four weeks since submission and I have not received any acknowledgment, feedback, or update on the next steps. I also sent multiple follow-up emails to HR but unfortunately did not receive any response.
While technical challenges are a normal part of engineering interviews, candidates invest a significant amount of time and effort into completing them. A simple acknowledgment, feedback, or even a rejection email would go a long way in maintaining a professional and respectful candidate experience.
I hope the company improves its communication process with candidates in the future.
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