I recently had one of the worst interview experiences. It all started with a call from the HR, who was quite rude and disinterested. Despite this, since I was laid off from my last company, I’m currently in a position where I have to take every opportunity seriously.
The HR didn’t share any job description and sent a last-minute interview invite for late in the evening. I joined the call, and the interviewer immediately said, "I don’t have your CV. Why didn’t the HR share it with me?" I was confused—why was he asking me that? Still, I quickly shared my resume on the spot, but he claimed he didn’t receive it and asked me to check with HR.
I contacted the HR, who told me to stay online while he checked. It was 8:30 PM by then—no interview happened, and I never received a follow-up call. When I followed up again, he casually said they would reschedule.
A week later, after repeated reminders, they finally rescheduled the interview. This time, the interviewer was extremely rude. I started explaining internal workings of ViewModel, Flow, and other core Kotlin topics—considering Kotlin is the primary language for Android development now.
However, the interviewer abruptly shifted to Java questions, asking things like the difference between HashMap and Hashtable. I answered them correctly with example, but she kept pushing for more detail because she knew I was good in kotlin she need a point to reject me. She then asked a random coding question just 3 minutes before the interview ended. When I asked for feedback and clarification, both interviewers suddenly went on mute. I asked multiple times, “Am I audible?” but they never responded.
I understand if a company doesn’t want to move forward—but there's a professional way to handle it. As someone laid off and actively job hunting, I’m putting in effort, showing up, and being respectful. It's disheartening to be treated so dismissively, especially when I'm already facing enough challenges. Interviews should assess skills—not demoralize candidates.