I applied online. The process took 5 weeks. I interviewed at Synack in Apr 2023
Interview
Three rounds of interview (all 30 minutes and conducted via Google Meet): 1. Recruiter Call 2. Interview with a Senior CSM (which apparently was suppose to be the hiring manager interview, but the interviewer wasn’t the actual decision maker) 3. Interview with a Manager of Customer Success (who wasn’t the actual manager for this role/region) The whole process took about 40 days and I got a rejection email little over 2 weeks after the 3rd interview The first interview was your standard recruiter screen. I was asked about my experience and why I was interested in Synack. I would describe the second and third rounds as confusing. I think I was only asked a total of 3 questions between both (well four, if you count that I was asked if I wanted to learn about the variable compensation structure twice). Both interviewers spent the bulk of the time talking about the culture, compensation structure and team. I barely had time to ask questions; or even talk and add my thoughts While I appreciate deep insights into the company and not asking the standard behavioral questions, I wasn’t really given an opportunity to advocate for myself and demonstrate why I would be a good fit for the role. The people I spoke to seem like decent people, but the process made no sense, sets a candidate up for failure and was disorganized.
Unfortunately I had a terrible interview experience with this company. I went through 5 1:1 interviews and a 6th final panel presentation. I experienced a breakdown in communication during the final stage of the interview process. I was provided with the wrong presentation prompt for the final panel. Three minutes into my prepared 20-minute presentation, the panel stopped me to inform me of the error and that they wanted to shift to Q&A(assuming other candidates were given the correct prompt). Despite doing my best to adapt, I felt unprepared and at a disadvantage. A clearer process and better candidate communication would have ensured fairness and a more accurate evaluation of my qualifications. It would have been more professional to let me finish and then ask what other questions they had for me in the Q&A portion, given how extensive the prompt was.