The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Railsware (Sfântu-Gheorghe) in Sept 2024
Interview
The hiring process with Railsware was extensive, to say the least. It began with a test assignment, followed by a 1-hour prescreen interview with their recruiter and two other team members. After that, I participated in a half-day session, which amounted to around four hours of work. During this time, I was paired with team members to complete tasks while they observed through screen sharing. The team was pleasant and professional throughout, and I appreciated their engagement.
However, after investing so much time and effort, I was informed that they realized they didn't actually have a full-time workload for a new team member, and as a result, they decided to stop the hiring process altogether. This came as a huge disappointment.
The most frustrating part was the lack of clarity from the start. Throughout the process, they gave the impression that they were actively hiring for a critical role, only to reveal at the very end that there wasn't actually a position to fill. If the process had ended with them hiring someone more qualified, I could have accepted it as a learning experience. But to go through multiple stages, with so much preparation and hours invested, only to be told that the role didn’t even exist, felt like a complete waste of my time and theirs.
Overall, while the team was kind, the professionalism of the entire process left a lot to be desired. Companies should not undertake such lengthy hiring procedures if they aren't certain about their need for the role in the first place. It left me questioning the internal organization and planning at Railsware.
The interview process has 3 steps. The first one is an HR interview to talk about yourself and previous work experience, etc.
The second one is a writing task and it included writing an article about their product in about 1000 words.
After completing the task, you’re invited for a full-day collaboration with them, and it includew 2h of work, break, and additional 2h of work.
The interview was fine, but expecting someone to dedicate 5-6h for a collaboration with their team, and essentially having to take a day off in order to complete the process is just crazy.
The last step got canceled in the process due to some issues on their end and I never heard from them again.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Describe your process and approach in writing content.