The interview process was unnecessarily long, disorganized, and exhausting, as if I were applying to join NASA, not a standard backend role. I went through three steps before opting out, even though there were still two more rounds left. Here’s what happened:
1. First Interview – CTO (30 mins):
This was supposed to be for a Senior Backend Engineer position. However, once the interview started, the CTO began redefining the role into something like a Tech Lead or Engineering Manager, without any prior notice or update to the job description. I’ve led teams before, so that wasn’t an issue, but changing the job title mid-interview felt dishonest.
To make matters worse, the CTO conducted the entire interview while smoking, and initial contact was made via WhatsApp, which is far from professional in a hiring context. No HR personnel were involved, no calendar invite, no formal communication. It raised serious questions: Is this how you handle hiring? Are there any HR professionals at this company at all?
2. Second Stage– Case Study:
I was asked to build a backend microservices application from scratch, with multiple complex requirements. I completed all mandatory and optional tasks, and even added an extra deployment scenario that went beyond what was asked. The result was clean, scalable, production-level code with not a single flaw.
I waited 20 days for any kind of response, only to eventually hear that it was a “great job.”
Of course, it was because it was effectively free labor.
3. Third Interview – Staff Engineer (90 mins):
This round was an emotionless grilling session. The staff engineer seemed more focused on rejecting than understanding. He asked complexity theory questions that even he was unsure about, and when I answered correctly, he challenged me anyway, often based on his own confusion. It was less of a conversation and more of a stress test disguised as an interview.
And what happened next?
After all that effort, I received a generic rejection email starting with “Unfortunately…”. No feedback, no explanation, just a copy-paste message dismissing weeks of work like it meant nothing.
If you’re an experienced engineer who values your time and self-respect, avoid this interview process. It’s not about finding the right fit, it’s about filtering you out, one exhausting and demotivating step at a time. No one should be asked to work for free or be disrespected in the name of “evaluation.”
