They had a very interesting approach on the job portal which got my attention and subsequently applied for. Didn't get any response for almost 2 weeks, then I get an email with a task related to the product which they are actually working on which i might be working on if selected.
I researched their product and the domain they were working on, I got to know a few basic things which got me curious and decided to take the assignment a bit seriously. I took the 3 days which they had given and submitted the files I worked on (it was not a complete one, its not possible to finish that task in 3days without gathering all the requirements and doing a thorough research).
Anyways, I sent the files on the 3rd day and I get a call to attend 1 on 1 interview scheduled the next day. At this point, I assumed they would have gone through the designs and other artifacts that I had sent and I would be walking them through the assignment and my design process/thinking which resulted in the assignment. (will continue this part later)
They have a small crowded space in Indiranagar (but energetic one) where there were 2 rounds.
1st round was with a design panel of 3 members, asking standard questions about the design process, my favorite app, why I like that app, how would I make it better etc etc etc.
Rest of the interview was about the HealhifyMe app and what I like about that what I would change. Since I had used it for a couple of days I could give a list of few things I thought should be tested and implemented. Went through the onboarding experience and few other features and was asked to suggest changes or questions about how I can make it better if I was working on that feature.
The next round was with the Product owner(with whom I was supposed to work if I got the job) and their design lead. I didn't get any questions from the product owner which was quite odd, ideally, I expect the product to be more proactive and evaluate my design thinking or ask questions to see if it matches their vision but that person looked a bit out of it compared to the other interviewee. Was asked about my design approach for airline ticketing and boarding app. I felt the interview went well.
But what really bugged me was that I was never asked about the assignment and my approach. If you give an exercise to a candidate you have to make sure you ask about that as well to understand why a particular approach was used over the other.
Since everything was moving so quickly I was expecting to hear back from them soon, I dropped them a mail after a couple of days to check in. I didn't get a reply and I assumed the worst of it which is fine, part of giving an interview is knowing when to move on.
But to my surprise the HR calls me back after a month to say the position is no longer there. Apparently, they decided not to hire anyone for that role but use the in house designers!! I mean seriously? Come on!! It was weird and I was not expecting a call from them and definitely not that reason. I guess that's how startups work!?
I am still wondering about my assignment and if it's being used to improve their product :)