After being contacted by a recruiter, I joined in a virtual interview with three team members. As I joined, two interviewers had their cameras turned off but turned them on after I thought this was a software issue. Throughout the interview they kept going on and off camera which was distracting and honestly rude. One interviewer was clearly not listening and laughing at something going on off screen, the other looked uncomfortable throughout and said next to nothing. It made me feel that this was a remote company who were not working well in this way as they didn't seem to have a relationship with each other, or any idea of how they came across to external parties.
The interviewer who kept his camera on then did a surprise test to 'see how I think' about an area unrelated to my role in product. This was a poor interview process that put me in a scenario I would never find myself in at work. It also disadvantaged me as a neurodiverse person applying as the unexpected task and distractions threw me off. The recruiter (Texcell, who subsequently ghosted me) also called several times phishing for information on my interview content. While I didn't give him any I'm sure the other applicants' conversations ultimately benefitted the successful candidate and disadvantaged others.
Overall a poor quality interview that gave me concerns about the company culture.
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Bright Sites (London, England) in June 2021
Interview
The interview process consisted of 2 parts. An initial meeting where the candidate meets a team of 2 or more current senior employees. Often the CTO and owner are present along with another developer.
Standard interview questions were asked about candidate's experience and work history along with some software development questions.
Then a take home test to build a prototype application according to specifications was given to be completed within a set duration of time.
After this duration has passed and test answer submitted, another final interview is scheduled. During this interview candidate and interviewer(s) go through test answers together. Interview then ends and candidate receives rejection/acceptance within a week.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What did I enjoy working on the most? Front-end or back-end software development?