My first, and no doubt only, interview was a 45 minute technical panel. I was contacted in the morning and given less than a few hours to prepare for an interview in the same day - held virtually. It was conducted by persons who worked for the company in IT security. There was no leadership present as I was told “they have more important things to do”. We spent less than two minutes with introductions and just moved into slide after slide after slide of various technologies. It was impersonal and felt out-of-touch with modern interviewing practices (and I have successfully completed “The Loop”). The only breaks or moments to catch a breath were the few seconds between shifting slides. After non-stop cognitive overload, I was provided the last 3 minutes if I had any questions. I abstained and offered the time back - as I was completely burned out. The interview left absolutely no time to get to know the team and felt more like an impromptu certification exam. With so little time to “feel out” the team - accepting an offer or continuing the process would be impossible for me - as team cohesiveness matters much more than almost any other factor.
