The interview process consisted of six rounds, and I valued the consistent communication provided by the recruiter. However, I encountered difficulties during the System Design round. Throughout the interview, there were moments when the interviewers seemed disengaged, asking repetitive close-ended questions I had already addressed. Additionally, we had mutually agreed to prioritize essential design elements over explicitly drawing load balancers.
There was a delay in receiving feedback as the interviewer was on vacation for a week without submitting their assessment. Upon their return, the feedback praised my experience in designing high-volume systems but criticized the absence of load balancers. Due to the same reason, they rejected my candidacy, even when this was mutually agreed upon during the round.
As someone with over 13 years of experience in designing high-traffic services, it was disheartening to have my proficiency questioned due to interviewer oversight. Despite finding the System Design interview enjoyable, the outcome left me feeling undervalued and frustrated.