In August, AI/ML Engineer Dmytro Honcharenko gave many interviews. But one of them, according to the IT engineer, will be remembered for a long time.
In August, AI/ML Engineer Dmytro Honcharenko gave many interviews. But one of them, according to the IT engineer, will be remembered for a long time.
«After they found me on Djinni, they wrote on Telegram — it’s fine for me. But — let’s start our „buts“,» wrote Dmytro Honcharenko on LinkedIn.
First, an invitation to an interview 2 hours before the start
«They wrote at 9, with an invitation for 11. Maybe I’m used to cool recruiters who give me the choice to choose the day and time myself or at least the day before, but two hours before — sorry, that’s completely unprofessional,» the IT guy noted.
Secondly, a question like «What if there is a conflict?»
«'What if the developer makes a mistake?'» — answers the old questions «If you get into a blender — what will you do?». The only question arises: what do you have there, daily battles and an apocalypse? And in general, this particular stage of the interview was very «squeezed»,» added Dmytro.
«After the interview, they rejected me, which is OK. But when I asked, 'Tell me why you didn’t get the job?' I was simply given a response from the GPT chat without a conclusion/final opinion on why you didn’t get the job, but with a list of 'what’s a plus' and 'what could be improved',» the IT specialist explained.
Fourthly, three weeks later, another rejection message arrived.
«Three weeks later they reminded me again and rejected me again, but on Djinni… THREE WEEKS CARL, after the first rejection. Apparently their system is so worried that I don’t doubt my rejection. A reminder so I don’t forget that they didn’t take me? Thanks, I remembered.»
So Dmytro Honcharenko summed up: «Dear companies, the hiring process is your face. And if you allow yourself to do this, what is going on inside? It wasn’t just a bad experience. It was a master class in how not to build a dialogue with a candidate.»
But not everyone agreed with the point that specifically addressed conflict issues.
Performance Engineer Dmitry Pozdnyakov noted: «The question about errors and conditionally „conflict“ is a standard question, in my opinion. It is asked at every second interview. This question is not about the conflict itself, it is about processes. How the candidate understands them. It is about priorities, correct escalation, using multiple communication channels. If you are asked about this, tell us how you see the processes of interaction and delegation of tasks.»
IT recruiter Margarita Nariauskaite added: «In my experience, if they ask a question of the type you said, then it makes sense. There are probably quite toxic people in the team, either managers or clients. And based on your answer, we can draw conclusions about how you will potentially react to this.»
However, other professionals shared similar situations in interviews.
«How familiar. I had a situation when a recruiter said: „What do you mean by a toxic environment?“ I answered, and she said: „Well, what if, for example, it’s not periodic, but a colleague is in a bad mood?“ And I was like: „What does his mood have to do with me? I’m not a punching bag.“ Like that… But with feedback, it’s just a mess, everyone just answers in a formulaic way: „We decided to move on with another candidate whose skills are more relevant.“ Yes, and what skills are not relevant to me? How can I work on improvements, I’m a slob,» said Senior Technical Support Engineer Tetyana Khrapova.
«Here’s my experience: the recruiter says it would be convenient at 1:00 PM, then I clarify — no, sorry, it would be more convenient at 2:30 PM. And at the same time, it sounds: „Listen, you don’t want to look for a job, then I don’t see the point in continuing the dialogue.“ Or the response to the offer to conduct an interview in three weeks from the recruiter: „Oh, I was blocked. You yourself indicated that it is convenient to communicate in Telegram. Is it still relevant for you?“ (despite the fact that I already have my resume in my hands),» shared Commercial Director Khrystyna Bilan.
«Can we compare… Have you had an experience when you were invited to come to an offline interview at the company’s office 50 minutes after the call?» added Senior Auditor Yaroslav Bondar.
