I m an experienced designer and autodidact technologist, with a professional background that ranges from pre-seed startups to 100+ year-old organizations.
The worst I had was for a data visualization development position at Datadog. The position listing focused on experience with D3, so I expected something relevant to that experience, maybe to do with array methods. Instead I got a code challenge to write a function to generate a fibonacci sequence (eye roll). When it came time to review my function, the interviewers had been given and prepared for a DIFFERENT problem by HR, and had to try and and catch up on the spot. They asked me something vague about how I might refactor my solution, and then one of the interviewers, a backend specialist, asked me a series of condescending backend-specific questions that had nothing to do with the position. I felt embarrassed and exhausted, and expressed my concerns about the process to the HR rep. Didn't get the job, and felt pretty afraid to apply for frontend positions going forward. I'm finally trying to work through that anxiety 3 years later!
It can be very hard to get back onto that ride when you experience things like this, so try to take some solace in knowing that you are not alone. If I have a bad experience it can sometimes derail my entire job hunt process for longer than I'd like to admit.
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.
The worst I had was for a data visualization development position at Datadog. The position listing focused on experience with D3, so I expected something relevant to that experience, maybe to do with array methods. Instead I got a code challenge to write a function to generate a fibonacci sequence (eye roll). When it came time to review my function, the interviewers had been given and prepared for a DIFFERENT problem by HR, and had to try and and catch up on the spot. They asked me something vague about how I might refactor my solution, and then one of the interviewers, a backend specialist, asked me a series of condescending backend-specific questions that had nothing to do with the position. I felt embarrassed and exhausted, and expressed my concerns about the process to the HR rep. Didn't get the job, and felt pretty afraid to apply for frontend positions going forward. I'm finally trying to work through that anxiety 3 years later!
It can be very hard to get back onto that ride when you experience things like this, so try to take some solace in knowing that you are not alone. If I have a bad experience it can sometimes derail my entire job hunt process for longer than I'd like to admit.