I applied for a specialist-level role in Qualcomm’s HR organization at the beginning of October. While the interviews themselves were straightforward and the main recruiter was professional, the overall process was chaotic, overly lengthy, and poorly coordinated.
After an initial screening call and a second interview with a team member, things quickly went off track. An automated text message meant for me was mistakenly sent to one of my references listed on my resume—who also happens to be my current manager. This was a significant oversight.
I was then flown to San Diego for two interviews, only to have one of them canceled on the day of. My entire trip lasted just 17 hours. Afterward, I was asked to attend a full day of interviews, bringing the total to seven. Another week passed, and I was asked to schedule an eighth interview with the hiring manager. Unfortunately, the hiring manager repeated many of the same questions from our initial interview, making the conversation feel redundant.
In total, I took three full days off work, navigated two rescheduled interviews, and dealt with multiple communication lapses throughout the process. Despite this significant time investment, I did not receive an offer.
While I appreciated the professionalism of the main recruiter, the process was unnecessarily complex and disorganized—especially for a specialist-level role. Qualcomm could benefit from streamlining its interview process and improving internal coordination.