I recently interviewed for an architect opportunity at Zscaler, and the experience was disappointing due to several issues I experienced and are listed in other posts here.
I had two culture and personality fit interviews followed by two structured interviews.
The structured interview questions did not align with the job description or the information from the fit interviews. In one of the structured interviews, I was asked about a time when I had “gotten my hands dirty because no one is available to help.” The question misaligned the fit interviews where the focus was looking for someone with people leadership to guide the current team and set vision, with only light involvement in day-to-day engineering and development.
During the one of the structured interviews, it was communicated that despite the hiring manager being listed differently, the position should actually report to the interviewer, who is in a different part of the organization. The interviewer preceded to explain their ‘expertise’ and how they would be more important than what was listed in the job description. The hiring manager had already set out a different set of expectations in the fit interviews.
Strategic objectives for the position would change with each interviewer with no acknowledgement or little understanding of the previously shared goal. There where some clear misunderstandings how technology and process works.
The two fit interviewers emphasized the importance of honesty and transparency throughout the process, but after the interviews where complete, none of the four interviewers replied to or even acknowledged feedback requests. The recruiter was communicative enough to inform me there was nothing to share.
Overall, my experience with Zscaler’s process was frustrating and disheartening. I learned a great deal about their processes and current issues, but I feel there are significant red flags with their leadership, internal communication and the way they treat the candidate experience.