The process started with an initial call with a recruiter, followed by a lengthy 1.5-hour SHL general ability test and a personality questionnaire. At Agoda, it seems standard to require candidates to go through these time-intensive logic assessments regardless of whether they’re relevant to the actual role and if a candidate already has several years of work experience. After that, I had two interviews: one with the hiring manager and one with a team member. The hiring manager’s interview was particularly intense: it felt more like an interrogation than a professional discussion. The focus was largely on handling high-pressure environments, with several tricky questions that seemed designed to catch candidates off guard rather than assess real competencies. Despite putting in the time and effort, I received no response from the recruiter when I followed up. Instead, I got an impersonal, automated rejection email two weeks later, saying that I didn’t meet the benchmark scores. For a company that emphasizes people and culture, the candidate experience felt cold, rigid, and unreasonably demanding.