Phenom Interview Questions
& Process

So there were three rounds. The first one was all about the projects I've done, plus two MySQL questions - one with window functions and a simple group by. Also, a DSA question from the Striver sheet. The second round was similar, going deeper into previous projects, with a scenario question solvable in MySQL, and a quick Python question. The last round was mostly behavioral, asking about handling deadlines and improving user experience.

So, I had a pretty bad recruitment experience. Basically, if they couldn't match my expected salary, they just marked it as negative feedback instead of being upfront about their budget. The communication and coordination were also a mess. I was told I got the job after the onsite interviews, but then a different HR person called a few days later saying the feedback wasn't good. That felt really unprofessional and avoidable. It would have been way better if they'd just told me their salary limits from the start, instead of making me go through the whole hiring process. It felt like they were just trying to find people who'd accept less pay, which wastes everyone's time. They really need to sort out their process and how they communicate.

The interview process started with recording myself answering 3 questions. Then I had a screening call with a recruiter. After that, it was Technical Interview #1, which included 1 coding question, 1 system design question, and some questions about my projects and CV experience. Next was Technical Interview #2. The recruiter said it would be with the team manager to check team fit and discuss my experience. But it turned out to be more of a technical interrogation, full of questions designed to trip me up and scrutinize every tiny detail. There were no questions about team fit, and it was a very stressful experience I wouldn't want to repeat. The final round was with leadership. It was a real disappointment because the leadership admitted that the role, despite the job description requiring experience in Microservices, API implementations, and cloud computing, and despite me having gone through two technical rounds for it, wasn't actually a technical role. They said I wouldn't be a good fit. They described the role as more sales-oriented, where I'd suggest the same standard solution to every new client, rather than the actual solution architecting described in the job description.

It started with a screening call where I had to answer 6 questions, 1 minute each, taking about 45 minutes total. It was pretty easy. Then I had the recruiter screen, which was enjoyable and ended positively. But, I got an automated rejection email just four minutes later. The recruiter did apologize and set up the next interview with the hiring manager. This hiring manager interview was rescheduled twice, each time about an hour and a half before it was supposed to start. The actual interview happened five days after the original date. It turned out to be a surprise technical coding test, not really a chat with the hiring manager. I didn't get to answer everything live, but it was stuff I'd done before. The whole process felt really disorganized and inconsistent, which made me wonder if that's what it's like to work there.