First, they send you a multiple-choice test that asks too many questions and give a ridiculous amount of time to answer them all. It's impossible to answer all the questions in time without using ChatGPT. With ChatGPT, you have just enough time.
Then they send you a practical assignment. They say that it would take 4 hours to accomplish. Again, even with the help of ChatGPT, it will take at least 5-6 hours to complete. They don't just require code, but also a report that answers questions, states assumptions, and suggests the next steps. Again, impossible to do all in 4 hours, so I spent 8.
The solution was accurate; I verified it multiple times. With my PhD in AI and 25 years of experience in computer science, 10+ of which were in NLP, I know what I'm doing. So I spent 8 hours to ensure everything was perfect.
And the result: a standard email saying, "after deliberation, we selected a different candidate."
I requested feedback on the assignment and received a one-liner: "a metric used wasn't standard without justification". As I said, I spent time to write a thorough report and justified every decision.
It was a total of 10 hours of my life wasted without even minimal respect from the other side.
To avoid by all means.
