I had a very disappointing experience with the technical hiring process. After my HR screen, I was asked to provide my language of choice for a CodeSignal assessment and provide availability for three weeks later. Despite this lead time, the interviewer assigned to my live coding round was completely unfamiliar with the language (Java) and mentioned having a background in a completely different engineering field. A senior-level technical interview should be a two-way dialogue, but this felt entirely one-sided. I spent the hour explaining my architectural choices and logic to an interviewer who simply agreed with everything I said without asking a single follow-up or clarifying question. Receiving a rejection the next day made it clear that this was likely a formality interview. If a company already has a candidate in mind or is just filling a quota, I’d advise the team to better value candidates' time and ensure interviewers are technically aligned with the role's requirements.

The interview felt quite straightforward—the question was a medium-level LeetCode problem that I was able to solve without much difficulty. Interestingly, the interviewer remained silent the entire time, offering no hints or feedback, which made it feel more like a timed assessment than an interactive discussion. Despite the lack of communication, I completed the problem confidently and within the time limit.