PacificSource Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

I interviewed at PacificSource for a Software Developer position. The whole thing took about three weeks and had 3 interview rounds. First round was a one hour chat with the hiring manager. They asked me situational questions, about my past work, and projects I had done. They also talked about their team and the apps they manage. Second round was a technical interview with 3 people: the Team Lead, a Developer, and a Business Analyst. This lasted about 1.5 hours and was heavy on SQL (Stored procedures, triggers, indexes, sub queries), C#, and data structures. Round 3 was a 30 minute call with the Manager, mostly about my interest in the role and the company. Up to this point, it was smooth sailing. But then came the HR part, which was a mess. The manager in round 3 said I was selected and that HR would send over the offer. HR called a few days later with an offer, which I accepted within two days. I had told HR and the manager in round 3 that I could start in 3-4 weeks, and they were fine with it, saying I was a perfect fit and they had no issues. They started the background check, and I was getting ready to tell my current employer I was leaving. A couple of days later, I got a call from a different HR person who sounded rude and said they were going with another candidate. When I asked why, the answers were weak and unsatisfying. This HR person had been in IT for 13-15 years but couldn't communicate properly, which was disappointing. They wasted a whole month of my time, luckily I didn't resign yet. My advice: stop playing games, be honest, and communicate clearly. Tell candidates about hiring rules upfront and don't give false hope if you're considering others.

I applied online and heard back about a month later. First, I had a phone chat with an engineering manager. Then, about a week after that, I did a virtual interview with two developers and a business analyst. I followed up a week later by email, and they said my email was sent to a recruiter I hadn't heard from before. I never got a message from that recruiter. Three weeks after my follow-up, I checked in again. Instead of a reply, I got an automated message saying they weren't filling the position anymore because of outside reasons. I get that things happen, but they really dropped the ball on communication.

So, after I applied, HR gave me a call the next week. Then, the day after, I had a chat with the manager and some developers. About a week later, they had me come in for a half-day interview. It started with the hiring manager, then another manager, then a project manager, and finally, the technical team. The whole thing took about 3-4 hours.