I had an initial screening call with a Senior Product Manager, which was a positive experience. They provided a helpful overview of the company, the role, the team’s focus area, and why they were hiring.
The interview covered my background, why I was interested in Chip and the role, what I was looking for in my next opportunity, and a range of competency and situational questions based on my experience. I was informed the following day that I had successfully progressed to the next stage.
The second stage consisted of a case study presentation and interview. A clear brief was provided in advance, requiring candidates to prepare a 5–15 minute presentation based on a realistic scenario aligned to the role, followed by follow-up questions. I found the exercise interesting and representative of the work involved in the position.
My experience during the second interview was less positive. During the discussion, I was interrupted on several occasions while responding to questions and asked different questions before I had finished my answer. While this may have been intended to test reasoning or thought processes, it made the interview feel less conversational and personable than the initial stage.
The most disappointing aspect of the process was the lack of communication following the case study interview. Across the interviews and preparation for the case study, I spent approximately 15 hours preparing and participating in the process, so the time commitment was not insignificant. Following the interview, I sent three separate follow-up emails but did not receive any acknowledgement, response, decision, or feedback.
I appreciate that recruitment processes can be busy and priorities can change. However, candidates who invest a significant amount of time and effort into an interview process deserve a reasonable level of professional courtesy and communication. Even a brief update or acknowledgement would have been preferable to receiving no response at all.