I was contacted by a recruiter for a Senior Software Engineer position focused on frontend development. The experience that followed revealed concerning patterns of unprofessionalism and potential dishonesty.
The initial screening call was unusual—the recruiter asked technical questions about React concepts (useCallback, useMemo, Suspense) that she admittedly didn't understand herself. She explicitly stated the process would be: screening call, take-home assignment, follow-up interview on the assignment, then an offer decision if successful.
I completed the take-home assignment (a React shopping cart with architectural documentation) within two days and advanced to what I believed was the final technical round. During this interview with the Director of Engineering and the hiring manager, something troubling occurred. The manager asked about localStorage vs sessionStorage and insisted my correct answer was wrong. I had to pull up MDN documentation on my shared screen to prove I was right, which the Director confirmed. The manager then awkwardly attempted to change subjects.
Despite believing the interview went well, I heard nothing for a week. When I followed up, the recruiter claimed she hadn't received feedback yet—despite having told me earlier that this would be the final interview before a decision. Over the next two weeks, she sent vague emails asking how I "felt about the role" but provided no updates.
Two weeks later, she suddenly mentioned an additional leadership interview that was never disclosed upfront, claiming she "couldn't find time to schedule it." When I received another offer and requested a final decision, she abruptly informed me the position had already been filled and she was checking with other teams for alternative roles.
The next day, I received a generic rejection: "We have decided to move forward with other candidates."
I strongly suspect the hiring manager became defensive after being corrected in front of his director and decided not to move forward with my candidacy for this petty reason. If true, this speaks volumes about the company's culture and the fragile egos of its leadership. What a shame if technical accuracy and confidence are treated as liabilities rather than assets.
The position was filled before my final round even concluded. Either the company strung me along as a backup candidate while being dishonest about their process, or they created a fake interview pipeline. The contradictory information, shifting goalposts, and complete lack of transparency suggests this company does not respect candidates' time or operate with integrity.
