CookUnity Interview Questions
& Process

The interview experience was unprofessional. First, I met with an HR person who was 25 minutes late, wearing a tank top outside, and claimed they didn't know about the meeting despite sending the confirmation. They mentioned there would be 5 more interview rounds and I'd meet the Hiring Manager next. Instead, I had a Peer interview. The peer claimed their camera wasn't working, so I had my camera on while theirs was off. This person seemed uninterested and wasn't knowledgeable about the role. They asked generic questions about process and to gauge my thinking. I followed up, heard nothing for a month, and then got a rejection. The process was disorganized and lacked respect for candidates. I wouldn't recommend it.

A recruiter reached out on LinkedIn and after multiple follow-ups, I agreed to a call. First, a screening call with a recruiter who asked a lot of repetitive questions and didn't seem to fully grasp the role. They said I was moving on though. Next was a video call with the hiring manager, who was great and excited about the role. We had a good chat, and she said the next step was to meet her boss. I had a scheduled video call with a higher-up, but they didn't show up. Super unprofessional. We rescheduled, and that call went well, and they advanced me. The final round was a meeting with the president/founder. They seemed distracted, taking the call from the airport, and not very engaged. Despite this, they said I was 'perfect' and what they were looking for, assuring me I'd hear good news soon. I followed up with HR multiple times but got no response. Two weeks later, I got a generic rejection email from someone I never spoke to. I was surprised given the positive feedback from the team and the effort I put into four rounds. They declined to give specific feedback, just saying they were moving forward with someone else. After all this, I found out they don't offer 401K matching and have bad reviews, plus the office is in a questionable area. I guess I dodged a bullet.

I had a great time interviewing at CookUnity. It started with a call with Natalia Villegas, who laid out the job and what they were seeking. After that, I did a test assignment and then met with some team members to discuss my project. The last step was a chat with Cezanne from the Growth Marketing team. I really enjoyed the whole thing and learned a bunch. I particularly liked making a video and talking about why I made the choices I did, since I often do things without thinking and this made me really consider my own process. Everyone was super professional, nice, and upfront, which I appreciated. Overall, it was a really good and useful experience that made me even more keen to join.

The interview process began with a very friendly and attentive recruiter call, covering my profile, experience, and technologies. This included an English conversation to assess my level, which was deemed 'acceptable' but improvable. I accepted the offer to proceed because this initial experience was positive. Next, I interviewed with a manager who focused on soft skills, like conflict resolution and identifying my preferred work areas. Despite the manager seeming a bit stressed, the interview went well. The company then sent a technical challenge to be completed in 5 days, involving both backend and frontend aspects. I felt 5 days might be insufficient for a high-quality delivery, but recognized the need to balance and manage this. After submitting the challenge, I received confirmation a week later for a defense interview with two tech leads. They didn't fully grasp the project but had reviewed the code. They asked about my decisions and presented scenarios for new solutions. The following day, a meeting was scheduled with the CTO (in English). However, due to not practicing English, I decided to withdraw from the process. While the overall experience wasn't bad, I wished for clearer communication upfront about the English requirement for the final stages, as I would have practiced more to gain confidence. I also felt it was a missed opportunity when the process was immediately terminated upon stating I wasn't 100% prepared for an English meeting with the CTO, without exploring alternatives like another contact with closer language proficiency, especially after previous positive interviews. Honestly, part of the reason is also on me. For future applicants, be aware that an English conversation with the CTO is likely.