California State University Interview Questions
& Process

So there were two interview rounds before a panel of five people. The first round was done virtually and asked general questions in technology and soft skills based off job description and resume. The second round (technical) was in person which was a white board session.

I applied online and had an initial phone call with HR. After that, I had a panel interview with three people, and it was also recorded for others to watch. It was a terrible experience. I got annoyed because they asked me things that were already on my resume and cover letter, or that I had already talked about. Instead of listening, they just read questions from their screens and didn't make eye contact until they were done. It felt like they weren't interested, and it made me uncomfortable. I never heard back, and I didn't follow up.

There were two rounds of interviews. The first one was with technical Team members, and they wanted to get a sense of my technical background and skills. They tested me on software security and authentication, database concepts and SQL, and customer service experience. Since this job was mainly a tier-2 support role, there was a customer service part where I had to explain technical stuff in simple terms. The second interview was with upper management to see if I’d be a good fit for the Team. They were really looking to add diversity in ideas and approaches and bring in new skills to the Team.

The interview process included two steps. The first round was a panel interview with general questions and an opportunity for me to ask a few of my own. The second and final round was an in-person meeting with the hiring manager. In both rounds, I was told they were looking to move quickly. At the conclusion of the final interview, the hiring manager said I would hear back by Monday. That follow-up never came. I reached out twice afterward and never received any response. Frankly, I found the lack of communication incredibly unprofessional—especially after dedicating time to an in-person interview. While I understand that priorities can shift, completely ghosting a candidate at this stage is unacceptable. I might expect that kind of treatment from a startup with no HR support, but not from a university. It left a very negative impression of how they handle their hiring process and candidate experience.