The interview process began with two online technical rounds, both of which went well. My experience, projects, and technical skills were already evaluated in detail during these rounds.
I was then invited to the office for additional interviews. To attend, I had to take leave from my current job and travel to the office at my own expense. During the visit, I was again asked technical questions on areas including RAG, LLMs, MLOps, Computer Vision, and my previous projects many of which had already been discussed in the earlier rounds.
What I found frustrating was that after investing significant time across multiple rounds and an in-person visit, I was rejected without any meaningful feedback. If there were concerns about my technical fit, they could have been identified during the online interviews rather than requiring another day-long process at the office.
Additionally, there was no reimbursement for travel expenses, no lunch or refreshments despite spending several hours onsite, and no constructive feedback after the rejection.
I respect a company’s right to choose the candidate they feel is the best fit. However, candidates also invest their time, effort, leave days, and money into the process. A more efficient interview structure and basic professional courtesy would greatly improve the candidate experience.
Overall: The process felt unnecessarily lengthy, repetitive, and not respectful of candidates’ time.