I applied online. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at New Relic (Berlin) in Dec 2023
Interview
They kept stringing me on till another candidate accepted. They added random steps in the process... Kept saying that we need another person to interview. Finally realized they were keeping me on hold so that another candidate accepted.
Initially the process was normal. I had a short conversation with the internal recruiter and then a Zoom call with the hiring manager. Then it got a bit odd. A couple of days after the meeting with the hiring manager they gave me a take home assignment that was really not related to the job I applied for and required creating an application. I am very technical but not a developer so this was a bit outside my wheelhouse. At the time I thought maybe they were giving me a stretch assignment to see how I could adapt. I completed the assignment which cost me ~$130 in AWS fees and then sent in my assignment. About 2 weeks later I got a rejection stating I was not technical enough. The thing that seemed odd about this was that the job went off the website for about a month and then returned. Also from what I've heard a take home assignment usually comes later in the process. Since the assignment involved basically assessing their product, comparing it to competitors and then giving some ideas how AI/ML could be used I think that they were just using applicants for free consulting to give them outside ideas on the product with no intention of hiring them. Now I may be wrong but I just think prospective applicants should beware of this as, if true, it is wildly unethical IMHO.
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at New Relic in Jan 2025
Interview
I first had a short call with an internal recruiter and then one with the hiring manager. Manager did not seem very engaged with the process but sometimes I know they can get this way after interviewing so many candidates. The part that bothered me was after the hiring manager interview they assigned me a take home assignment about a week later. This seemed really early in the process and then the assignment was not really applicable to the position I applied for and was highly technical to the point they expected you to create an application (I was not applying for a development job). At the time I assumed perhaps this was an instance of them handing you something outside your wheelhouse to see how well you can adapt. I completed the assignment, which actually costed me ~$120 of AWS charges and submitted it only to be rejected. In hindsight I think they use this assignment to get free consulting from rejected candidates. Obviously I cannot prove this but assigning a task that is unrelated to the job posting so early in the process really indicates something is off. Additionally this position was reposted about a month later and remains online 2 months after that. This is very fishy and I would be suspicious of this company and this tactic if you run across it yourselves.
In depth discussion on product philosophy and best practices. Discussed the requirements of the position I was interviewing for. Took longer than expected due to the hiring manager giving notice.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How will you go about learning the nuances of observability and application monitoring?
