The hiring process was extremely drawn out, unprofessional, and frankly disrespectful. I started interviewing in March.
1. Intro Screening Call with a senior PM (30 minutes)
1 week passes
2. 4-5 page Product Spec Assignment (5-6 hours of work)
Around 10 days pass
3. 7 more calls afterwards (each 30 mins in length)
Around a week passes
4. Got referred to another team which they deemed would be a better fit
Around another week passes
5. Interviews with new team onsite
Around another week passes
6. Received a verbal offer with salary, start date, and equity. At this point I’m finally happy to be near the finish line as I was excited about the role and the pay. The offer was still awaiting “executive approval” from the CEO and CPO however. I assumed and was continuously reassured that this would be a formality and nothing to worry about. I had concerns but was given reassurances the entire time that it was a matter of time. I was even told it would be okay to turn down my other existing offers as this would just be a formality. I had even been told that offers recommended by this team had never been rejected by the CEO/executives in charge of approving new hires.
Three weeks pass
7. Official offer has not been approved, verbal offer rescinded. The CEO and CPO apparently suddenly put a hold on hiring APMs (this makes no sense given the reassurances and the companies needs. I literally met the team planning headcount during my onsite interview and they clearly were planning to add APMs to the team).
This company has no communication from its leadership. To string along a candidate for months, give a verbal offer, give reassurance, and then sweep the offer from under the candidates nose is unacceptable and unprofessional. If I was on a work VISA and needed employment for VISA sponsorship, I would’ve been left out to dry after months of investing time and energy into this company.
Avoid this company, and if you do decide to interview with them, absolutely force their hand to provide an official offer as soon as possible. If they can’t do so in a timely manner/keep stringing you along, do yourself a favor, cut your losses, and move onto something else that respects your time and energy. There’s plenty more companies out there for you that will actually respect new talent and smart candidates for who they are and not just as pawns in this corporate game controlled by executives who make random decisions that aren’t communicated to anyone in the company until the literal last second.