I got a call from a recruitment agency regarding a role with two interview rounds — L1 (technical) and a managerial round.
The first round was technical. They asked basic questions about testing fundamentals, my framework, the STLC, V-Model, Agile processes, ceremonies, and my roles and responsibilities. They also asked a few questions about the Robot Framework. There were two interviewers, and both were technically sound and asked real-time scenario-based questions. They were expecting detailed and practical answers, and overall, the discussion was good. I cleared the first round.
About a week later, they scheduled the second round, which included an HR and a manager. Honestly, their behavior was off-putting. Both were unusually arrogant and kept giving strange facial expressions — as if I was speaking some alien language. The HR was especially rude. She bluntly said, “I see a pattern of frequent job switches, and you're already in a good company. Why are you looking for a change?”
Even after I explained my reasons and the challenges I’m facing, she responded with a smirk and said, “I’m not convinced.” The manager, on the other hand, started asking extremely hypothetical, unrealistic scenario-based questions and expected me to answer exactly the way he had in mind. Any alternative thought process wasn’t considered valid.
Their body language was so negative that I genuinely felt like I was being interrogated by top-level CBI officers. When I asked about the project details, the manager said the project hasn’t started yet — they've been “figuring things out” for the last three years. I could barely stop myself from laughing.
As expected, I got a response later saying I didn’t clear the managerial round — and honestly, my inner self was relieved. It was clearly not the kind of environment I’d want to be a part of.
Also, it was weird — everyone from the recruitment team to the interviewers kept flexing about their High Street office location, as if they were working in Silicon Valley.