I recently interviewed for a Technical Support Engineer position at Datadog. The process began positively, with an excellent recruiter call and a manager interview that were both encouraging and supportive, followed by a successful Hackerrank technical test. This extended through the onsite technical and behavioral assessments, where three team members provided constructive feedback on all the technical problems and behavioral questions I tackled. However, the experience concluded disappointingly during the final session. This portion felt more like an interrogation than an interview. It began with repeated questions I had already answered and included oddly specific queries about how I applied for the position. The person I met with emphasized the challenges of transitioning from technical support to software engineering within the company, which felt discouraging. Additionally, they expressed undue concern over my 30-minute commute from East Bay to San Francisco!! Moreover, they fixated on unconventional questions, such as how to visually represent a sign with “Great job” whenever there is an empty ticket queue. When I proposed a script-based solution, they bizarrely insisted on a physical sign with the words "Great job," leaving me perplexed. It's disappointing when a seemingly positive interview process concludes on a sour note. Despite encountering welcoming and engaging individuals throughout the process, the final interaction with tainted the experience and left me feeling unwelcome and undervalued. It's essential for leaders within a company to maintain a consistent and supportive approach during interviews, as these interactions significantly influence candidates' perceptions of the organization regardless of the outcome. I hope this feedback can help improve the process for future candidates.

I applied through LinkedIn. It did not that that long to come back to me. They reviewed my resume and cv, sent me an email to have a phone screening interview.