I recently interviewed for a Senior Software Engineer, Fullstack position at Perpay and was underwhelmed by the overall experience and outcome. During the initial technical interview, I was asked to cover REST essentials, designing scalable controllers in Python (Flask), I implemented them and wrote the tests accordingly. This was remote.
Then they asked me to drive to PL for 7 hours in total for one onsite session. I took a day off and did it, for the system design, it was asked to present a URL shortening solution. In preparation, I thoroughly studied and followed the same, widely recognized approach featured in a GitHub repository with over 289,000 stars—an industry-standard (repo /system-design-primer) reference. I even extended the design by iterating on questions and discussing potential enhancements. %99 identical solution. Answered every questions asked in very detailed form light speed, because as I said I was prepared.
Despite presenting this thorough, widely approved solution, I received a short rejection stating that other candidates showed “stronger technical skills.” While I respect/understand that any company must choose the best candidate, I was disappointed by the lack of substantive feedback. There were no clear explanations about why my solution was deemed insufficient or what specifically needed improvement. I guess they ended up having another candidate who can present something better than all those 289.000+ contributers! We all know it's not the case. It felt like my extensive effort and adherence to a recognized industry pattern were overlooked. And they don't even care.
TLDR
Pros:
- The team members I spoke with were welcoming during the on-site.
- That's pretty much it
Cons:
- Minimal transparency: The feedback was generic, offering no clear guidance on what was lacking in my approach.
- Time investment not duly acknowledged: I took time off and prepared diligently, but received only cursory reasoning for the rejection.
- Limited constructive critique: Detailed, solution-specific insights would have been more helpful for a senior-level position.
Overall, I left feeling that my efforts and qualifications were not fully considered. For any future candidates, I highly-highly suggest that you should invest your time somewhere else at least where you can feel valued for your efforts/time, or better be prepared your 2-3 of work days will be wasted as mine!
