Papaya Global Interview Questions
& Process

It began with an initial HR call where we talked about my background, my experience with backend development, and why I'm interested in this job. We also covered my availability, what salary I'm looking for, and generally if I'd be a good fit for the company culture. After that, I had one technical interview. This session involved a mix of practical technical questions and a LeetCode coding problem of medium difficulty. The interview tested my backend fundamentals, my problem-solving abilities, and how well I could explain my thinking.

I had a few interview rounds, including talking with a Senior Pre-sales and Solutions Consultant and the Global SVP of Revenue. There was also a case study I had to do at home and then present to the Sales Director and a Senior Pre-sales and Solutions Consultant. Lastly, I interviewed with the HR representative. Everything was cool and on time, and I felt informed about what was happening next. All communication was via email, and all interviews were on Microsoft Teams via video.

I applied online and heard back from a recruiter pretty quickly. My first chat wasn't a typical HR screen, but a meeting straight with a senior product person for their payments division. I had to ask the recruiter what to expect since no details were given, and they just said it'd be an intro where they'd explain the role. During that call, the interviewer mostly talked about the job and their own background, briefly asked about mine, and hinted that the role wasn't a standard 9-to-5. After two weeks with no word, the recruiter set up the next interview with another senior product leader. Again, no info on what this would cover. The interviewer was late and still finishing another meeting when they joined, which felt a bit disorganized. The conversation itself was all over the place – they discussed their past, asked about mine, and mentioned they weren't sure if they found my LinkedIn profile, meaning they likely didn't prep by looking at my resume. They even asked what kind of jobs I was seeking, which was odd since that's in my application. The whole thing felt kind of chaotic, especially since I never talked to HR. It seemed like they weren't in a rush and were more exploring than conducting actual interviews. When I asked about what's next, I was told there'd be another one-on-one, then a case study with a panel, and finally a chat with HR only if an offer was being considered. The interviews were pleasant but lacked structure, prep, and clarity on what they were looking for in a product manager.

The interview process took two months for just three 30-minute conversation stages, which felt unnecessarily drawn out. I had to follow up with the recruiter about ten times because they were unresponsive, despite talking a lot about growth. The feedback after each round was good, but after investing so much time, the final rejection email said I had great experience that matched what they were looking for, even more than they wanted, but then said they wanted someone with the same experience, which made no sense and contradicted earlier feedback. The main points discussed during the calls were about working long hours and having no personal life, as mentioned by someone in the same role who seemed burnt out and by the managers. I'm glad I didn't get the job because, considering how poorly they managed this initial part, the actual working environment sounds like it would be a disaster.