I applied online. I interviewed at Trust In Soda in May 2026
Interview
Outdated Hiring Mindset for Engineering Leadership Roles
Rejected in the very first round for “too many switches” without understanding the context behind them. Some companies went through layoffs, some had financial instability, and one even shut down entirely. Judging leadership capability purely by company count is a shallow and outdated hiring mindset.
Strong engineering leaders are evaluated on impact, ownership, resilience, and ability to navigate uncertainty, not by assuming every career move is voluntary. Surprisingly narrow thinking for a company claiming to value modern leadership and people understanding. A disappointing and highly reductive interview experience.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
“The most important question” was essentially why I had worked at multiple companies, without much interest in the actual reasons, outcomes, or impact delivered there. It was interesting to see career resilience during layoffs, shutdowns, and unstable business environments treated as a red flag instead of real-world leadership experience. Felt less like an Engineering Manager evaluation and more like a spreadsheet filtering exercise.