The first part of the interview process was promising. I had a system design interview that was well-structured and engaging. I appreciated the thoughtfulness of that session and felt like it was a good opportunity to demonstrate my skills.
However, the second round felt very flat. The interviewer read questions directly without much engagement or feedback. It felt more like a checklist than a conversation, and I wasn’t sure if my responses were being heard or considered.
The final round was unfortunately the worst. It was supposed to be a combination of live coding and a discussion of my project history, but it turned into live coding followed by yet another system design interview. The interviewer seemed visibly disengaged — making faces, sighing, and even disappearing off-screen during parts of the coding challenge. When I asked clarifying questions about design constraints, I received confusing and inconsistent responses like “use whatever you want,” only to be met with visible disapproval when I followed that advice.
It left me with the impression that they weren’t interested in evaluating me fairly, and I’m relieved I wasn’t offered the position. It’s unfortunate because the mission and early interview stages showed promise, but the overall process felt disorganized and, at times, disrespectful.
