The process started with applying for the position on the Canonical website. Within less than a day, I was contacted by a "hiring lead" to start the process. I was asked to start out by filling out a fairly long questionnaire which had some questions related to the position but some others which I didn’t understand the point of. Some of the odd questions included my class ranking in high school and what others thought of me in high school and so on. After filling out the questionnaire and submitting it back, I was asked to perform an online psychometric assessment before proceeding with interviews. Upon completion, I got scheduled three “initial stage” interviews. The interviews went really well and the interviewers were really polite. One interview was purely technical and the two others were a mix. After completion, I was asked to do another online behavioral assessment. Once completed, I was scheduled for an HR interview. It was a typical type of HR interview asking behavioral questions and salary expectations. From what I understand from other reviews, this is the point that typically they would receive an email that the application is not progressing. Instead, after, I was informed that I had progressed to “late-stage” interviews. The late-stage interviews were with more senior individuals and the hiring manager (different from the hiring lead). For the most part, those interviews went fairly well. There was one that went particularly well I thought also. A few days after the last interview, I received an email from the hiring lead that the Canonical team decided not to progress my application further (without providing any feedback). The hiring lead also added that they had talked to the recruiting team and found another potential fit and asked if I would be interested in having my application forwarded. Reading the description, I thought it was something I was interested in and I responded with approval. The hiring lead then responded by copying another hiring lead and mentioned that I would be informed of the next steps soon. Some time passed after that without me hearing back. I pinged the hiring lead again asking if there were any updates and if I could be provided feedback on the prior application. I got a response that something might have fallen through the cracks and that the other hiring lead should be contacting me soon. Some time passed since the last communication and I didn’t hear back at all. At that point, I figure that the second position suggestion was probably made to soften the blow of rejection without necessarily the intention to carry through. Overall, the interview process included the following steps: - Questionnaire (took me 2-3 days to find time and fill thoughtfully) - Psychometric Assessment (10-30 mins online) - Initial Stage Interviews (3 interviews 1-hour per) - Behavioral Assessment (10-30 mins online) - HR Interview (1 Hour) - Late Stage Interviews (3 interviews 1-hour per) Apart from the time spent on the process, what was also tough was finding the time to fit interviews into my schedule since the interviews are scheduled individually. As part of the process, you are also asked to provide as many available slots as possible since the team operates in different time zones. I would think that one would really want to work for Canonical if they are willing to go through an involved process of this nature. I really enjoyed it myself, though given the steps in the process, for some it might be a deterrent. I was fortunate enough around the time of the interviews that I was fairly available (and I really wanted to work for Canonical :) ). Had that not been the case, the process would have probably dragged out for much longer. I figure the longer it takes, the impact of disappointment from rejection will only become worse. In summary, I really enjoyed the interview process and talking to the interviewers but it was also really demanding. Also during the process, the hiring lead was really cordial, responsive, and always kept me updated which I appreciated. In the end, though I totally accepted the final decision I wasn’t really happy with the way things concluded. I figure when candidates are dedicating a significant amount of time to interviews, it would be only appropriate to provide some feedback. Especially, if one had reached a late stage. I would have been content with that on its own. On the contrary, it seems I was provided instead what ended up being false hope apparently to soften the blow of rejection. Also, my question about feedback was ignored. That sort of left a bad taste instead. I figure also that the position I interviewed for didn't get filled as it was reposted shortly after using the same description though with a different title.
