Started out positive with an initial 30min screen with the hiring manager, who was great, empathetic and relational, which is often not the norm in engineering. I look for that, especially from managers. I'm fatigued by the countless engineers who lack social skills and empathy, even though they work at companies who list empathy as a core value and essentially bypass those values, get hired because of their non-empathethic left brain. Frustrating.
Next was 1 hour technical interview with another Frontend Engineer. Medium difficulty with a range of questions about React, native browser features and a 20min live coding, solving for a simple algorithm as well as some basic HTML, CSS and JS rendering. It was also a positive experience because the questions were relevant to the qualifications listed for the FE role.
Next was a 5.5 hr long virtual on-site. This is where things started going downhill with a variety of negative experiences about their recruitment process.
The schedule was packed and not considerate of the candidates time or well-being. It felt like a stress test. The recruiter didn't exemplify empathy or compassion, was instead passively dismissive to my concerns about the interview not feeling equitable. The recruiter also arrived late to our initial meeting by about 10mins and never acknowledged their tardiness or expressed consideration of my time. Unusual.
Virtual on-site was split into 5 parts. CS fundamentals, system design, frontend and behavioral, along with a virtual 30min coffee chat with two other current employees, one a PM and FE. Virtual chat was a total failure and waste of time and energy. The two people arrived and stood there silent while I facilitated the entire conversation with them. It was awkward and exhausting. I could've used that time to rest instead.
Overall, some people on the panel were great and embodied Grammarly's EAGER values. Recruitment process did not. And why are CS fundamentals equally valued for a FE role? 🤔
