I recently interviewed for a Frontend Developer role at Simple energy through a referral on LinkedIn. After being contacted by HR, the first round was scheduled quickly, and I was told the interview would focus solely on JavaScript and React as also clearly mentioned in the JD. No mention of Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA) was made.
During the interview, I answered all technical questions confidently, provided real-time examples, wrote code, and discussed best practices. The conversation went on for more than an hour, and the interviewer joined late by 15 minutes, for which I patiently waited.
However, to my surprise, a hard DSA problem was thrown in at the very end something not disclosed beforehand. As someone applying for a Junior Frontend Engineer role, I believe it’s only fair to communicate such expectations in advance. This allows candidates to prepare accordingly and avoids confusion or unnecessary pressure.
I followed up multiple times over the next week and finally received a rejection email with no feedback provided.
👎 My takeaway:
Transparency in the interview process is crucial.
Respect candidates’ time and effort.
If DSA is a core part of the interview, it should be clearly stated in the JD and communicated beforehand—especially for frontend-specific roles.
