First Citizens Bank Systems Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

Applied, then the recruiter reached out about setting up a team interview with the hiring manager. I met with the hiring manager and a senior engineer, and it went really well. A few days later, the recruiter set up another interview for me with two more managers from different teams, and that also went great. Then, the following week, I had an interview with a director. The director said I was a perfect fit for the role, but I got the impression he didn't really like me because of how he acted and spoke. That interview didn't feel right. Two weeks after that, the recruiter contacted me again and said I'd hear back the following week. That week passed without any news. About two weeks after that, I reached out to the recruiter, and she mentioned she was out and would let me know the next week. Two more weeks went by, and I kept getting excuses. Then, they just stopped communicating altogether. Which is fine, they could have just told me I didn't get the job, and I would have been okay with that.

The process was very long, all done via teams meetings during regular business hours. Each interview required taking time off my current job. There was one interview with HR, one with the director, one with multiple team members, and a final one with the same director plus another director from a different team. In total, I had to take 4 hours off my current job. The company was very inconsiderate of my time. They asked when I was available but scheduled interviews during times I couldn't attend, making it difficult for me to show up, but I did. There didn't seem to be a high level of respect from the director, which surprised me since I was called back for a third and fourth interview. My takeaway was that I was well-qualified, answering all questions well, honestly, and appropriately, but my personality just wasn't what they were looking for. It seems like something they could have figured out before wasting all of our time. In the canned email telling me they wouldn't move forward, they encouraged me to apply elsewhere in the company, but I won't because this experience really turned me off on this company.

I applied online and after about three weeks, I was contacted via email to schedule a phone interview. This initial call was with the recruiter who sent the email; it was casual and brief, focusing on my resume and asking about my biggest accomplishments and salary expectations. I was told they'd reach out if I was a good fit. About a week later, I got another email to set up an in-person interview, which included details about who would be interviewing me and available time slots. On the interview day, there were three back-to-back interviews that lasted over two hours in total. The interviewers were laid-back, which made the experience less tense and quite enjoyable. A few days after the interviews, the recruiter called with an offer.