Nanobiosym Interview Questions
& Process

I had two people call me on the same day and they asked the same questions. One of them told me I didn't have the experience they needed, which they could have just not moved forward with my application. They asked for references early on, saying it was for later, but they contacted them without telling me. They called late on a weekend to set up the onsite interview and complained that my references hadn't responded, even though my references told me they had scheduled calls. They canceled calls or didn't call my references at the scheduled time, which was a waste of their time, and I didn't like that they disrespected their time. During the onsite interview, it felt like nothing I said was good enough and they needed my references to confirm things. Even though some people at this company are accomplished, this experience made me doubt myself, which didn't happen in previous interviews when I had less experience. I didn't follow up after all this.

I applied online and then interviewed at Nanobiosym. The people were very professional and nice. I don't really know what else to write here, so I'm just adding some words to describe the company. It's kind of ridiculous that I have to write something to see the reviews.

The interview process was honestly, kinda a disgusting process. For my first phone interview, they were two hours late to call me, and even then that was just to reschedule three hours later. The interview itself was even worse. Perpetually throughout the interview process, the prestige of the CEO is constantly mentioned. It's clear reading through the company's literature and their arrogant responses to other posts on LinkedIn that this company is solely a vehicle to raise that prestige. From the start, you're told how valuable her time is and how everything revolves around her schedule. The first person I spoke to was the same as the phone interview. I was asked the exact same questions as during the phone screen, and it's clear that despite being an engineer, they knew little of every engineering software I mentioned. After that, another person was brought in to talk to me. About 5 minutes in, while still in the middle of introductions, that interview was cut short because I was to talk to the CEO. The interview was immediately stopped. I was brought to their actual office space (aside from the fancy communal board room for their building - not judging) which was kinda nice. The CEO's office is bigger than the windowless room with a single table all the engineer's sit at. The interview with the CEO was an absolutely awful experience. She said, after looking at my resume, that I "really have no experience", despite being a recent graduate with two-years of internships directly related to my field. She then proceeded to shame me for not having a job, asking "what I do all day if I'm not working/studying/researching?", as well as discussing and asking about my political views. She also asked what type of employment I was looking for, ie. full-time, part-time, internship, etc... and asked for me to name a number of hours I'd want; the response I got was that 40 hours would be part-time; I'm guessing I would be getting paid as if I was actually working part-time. Eventually, that embarassing, shaming part of the interview was done, and I an engineer was brought in to speak to me, with the CEO right there in the office, doing office work. That was pretty fine, he knew what he was talking about, but there was a degree of secrecy to the entire interview process. I was given absolutely no information about what I was going to be doing or what their product even is. They take a defensive view about it, even stating during the initial phone interview that they're secretive because they think any one who interviews is a corporate spy trying to steal their technology. This is not a joke. This is not a hyperbole. The theme was reiterated throughout the interview, and I still had no clue what I would even be doing or if I even had the skills background for the job. For a company that talks about what amazing, great things they're doing, you'd think they'd want to share it? In the end, I consistently followed up with getting no feedback or response whatsoever, even months later. I got a job and stopped following up, but overall I'm glad that I dodged a bullet here. I didn't even mention how they stressed how "long hours are needed" for this secret mystery mission and accomplishments they're doing. I'm sure I'm going to get a response from them in this, like all the other reviews, where they list off their accomplishments and say that I'm clearly not cut for their team and will never be as great as them. And it says a lot that their response to many negative reviews is that it's CLEARLY written by competitors. But the job I applied for is still up, and has been up every since, as have almost all of their other job postings. I'm guessing what they do is they perpetually interview people, rarely ever hiring, so don't expect much.

Applied in October 2023 and finally heard back from the CEO on December 22nd about scheduling a chat. Sent a couple of follow-up emails over the next two weeks to confirm my interest and availability. The first interview with the CEO lasted almost two hours and focused heavily on her personal issues with trust and vulnerability, barely touching on my skills or achievements. She also couldn't explain why she needs a CoS. About two weeks later, she texted me late at night asking for a 10-minute call, which I agreed to. I suggested rescheduling for a better time, and after some back-and-forth, I eventually got a 15-minute slot. She was 40 minutes late for this call and made me sign an NDA that she didn't even co-sign. After multiple attempts to follow up, she suggested I speak with her sister, Lisa, the VP of Technology Operations and Business Innovations, who has been with the company for about 20 years. Lisa asked a lot of standard HR questions during our hour-long conversation. I emailed Lisa twice afterwards with no response and texted the CEO again, also without a reply. It's been almost two weeks since then. I've noticed a suspicious pattern on Glassdoor with one-star reviews followed by several five-star reviews around March and April 2023.