I did the first round with the HR, which was smooth.
Then I did a second round with the hiring Manager and the director. The director was not paying any attention and never looked into the camera.
after I passed this round I was asked to prepare a presentation. It was in the company template. I spent a lot of time on it and after a few days I just received an email from HR that it was not good. I had invested a lot of time, and there was no feedback at all! They did not even give me a chance to present it and answer questions. Afterwards, I showed it to other people, and they all told me it was very good.
I see that after 3 months the position is still open and I believe this is a scam, they just make you solve their problem, use your ideas and do their work and probably use your presentation internally for themselves.
Other Engineering Manager interview reviews for CoLab Software
Total 4 rounds including the initial recruiter round.
1 - Chat with a recruiter
2 - Hiring Manager Interview
3 - Team interview
4 - Interview with CTO/CEO
Positives -
The recruiter, the process in overall and other team members. Great experience chatting with them.
Negatives -
The interview process started well, and I successfully cleared the first three rounds without any issues. During these rounds, my leadership experience and skills were well-received, and the interviewers seemed genuinely excited to meet me. However, the final round with the CTO took a completely different turn.
From the beginning, the interview with the CTO felt off. The CTO was disrespectful and conducted the interview with a nonchalant attitude. They started questioning my years of experience in a condescending manner, trying to imply that I wouldn't be capable of managing the role. This was surprising, considering my leadership and management skills had been praised in the previous rounds. Yet, the CTO seemed intent on pushing me towards an individual contributor (IC) role.
If the CTO is conducting interviews without showing respect to senior candidates, it raises concerns about how others might be treated within the organization. The CTO themselves had less experience and seemed to judge candidates solely based on the number of years they had worked. This behavior reflects the kind of culture that is likely being propagated within the company.
Lastly, don’t be misled by their LinkedIn posts and promotional material—they don't reflect the true nature of the company.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
if asked your team members how would they describe you? How do you deal with changing timelines? What is your leadership philosophy? How do you deal with non performing employees
