Second chance? Not this time 🙂
About a year ago, I applied to Global Relay for a Senior Java Developer role.
The screening call with the recruiter was excellent - clear, professional, and left me genuinely excited.
Then came the technical interview… which, let’s say, didn’t quite go as planned:
The interviewer didn’t turn on the camera (I did), which immediately made it feel like a one-sided conversation.
The audio quality was poor, and due to a strong accent, I struggled to catch parts of the conversation.
I was interrupted mid-answer several times, as the interviewer seemed more focused on a checklist than on truly understanding my approach.
The final verdict? “CRUD developer.”
That was unexpected - especially after 12+ years of experience with Java, leading backend teams, designing scalable systems, and optimizing cloud infrastructure.
This includes projects at Airbnb and Pinterest, where I worked on large-scale architecture and helped reduce infrastructure costs by millions annually.
Some time later, I learned that the manager who interviewed me was no longer with the company.
Recently, a friend encouraged me to apply again. The new hiring manager seemed genuinely enthusiastic - strong tech match, relevant experience, and great initial feedback.
But then… the old interview report resurfaced.
And based on that alone, my application was rejected - no second conversation, no fresh look.
For context - even Google re-invites candidates for another interview after a year.
Maybe that openness to fresh perspectives is part of what makes Google… Google.
And to make things more ironic - just in the past month, I was contacted by three different agency recruiters about roles at Global Relay.
Apparently, the market still sees a strong fit.
Lesson learned:
Sometimes, your first tag in the ATS sticks around longer than it should.
Live and learn — and on to the next opportunity 🙂