Steps were: OA -> HR Screen -> Phone Interview -> In Person Interviews (3 back to back)
When I arrived at one of the engineering areas for the in person interview, I was struck by the atmosphere. Most of the engineers at their cubicles seemed disinterested and had unpleasant expressions. Many of the engineers were on their phones, appeared bored, one even looked upset.
There was a sectioned off area for interns which I found a bit strange considering it was decorated for children (and I wasn't surprised to find they were just on their phones with their shoes off and feet on the chairs). I found this extremely distasteful since myself and many others I knew worked extremely hard for internships during university, and it appears they are given to children who it seemed don't care or value them.
The first interviewer seemed as though they did not want to be there, and came in unprepared which wasted time and made me feel unwelcome. To me it appeared as if they did not even want me to succeed, which set a negative tone for the rest of the interviews. From this I got a pretty big wave of performance anxiety which carried out to the other in person interviews, to where I eventually mostly gave up trying half way through. The last interviewer asked probing questions about my most recent work experience project, and I ended up just lying and saying someone else worked on it and I didn't know the details which was untrue.
The first interview task was relatively simple and I was disappointed in myself for not being able to fully complete it, although I would like to mostly write it off to the interviewer not being welcoming, and we ran out of time at the end just as I started getting the hang of it.
To top it all off, the same first interviewer gave me a snarky comment at the end of the interview, saying something along the lines of "You said you had a few weeks of experience?". I never said this, I have a little over a year at this point.
I do not believe I was the only one who had a terrible experience with the manager, since a week or two after being denied, I found the same position reposted. If you want the best performance out of the people you are interviewing, I'd suggest creating a more welcoming environment.
It was bittersweet to have been declined a week after the interview since I genuinely was interested in the position (a rarity for me), and I felt I connected and aligned with one of the other managers I interviewed with who seemed like a real mentor, and would have still seriously considered accepting the position even after the negative experience.
Some pros:
-Quick responses from the recruiter, although a tad slow at times when asked what the next interview would consist of.
-Most people I interacted with were very nice and friendly.
-Their system for scheduling online and the in person interview was smooth.
-Their HQ was neatly decorated and had a great vibe.
Overall: If you hate your job and enjoy being on your phone all day at work, I would say this is the team/role for you! And to be completely fair, I can't speak for the other teams or positions, only my own experience for this particular one.
