Plivo Test Automation Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

I was interviewed for SDET at Plivo communications. There were total 4 rounds - 3 Technical, 1 Manager. Questions were from Python problem solving, Automation design, Optimized solutions to reduce time complexity, performance testing, Protocol analyzers, web performance, SDLC process.

So I was called for an interview and they asked me to take a full day leave because they had 5 rounds to take. It was hard for me to take leave because of extremely important delivery but still I managed by working on weekends. The day I reached there, I did my first round which was written. Then I had my 2nd round F2F interview for close to 1 hour which went well. After that I waited more than 1 hour for my next round which never happened. After 1 hour, HR came to me and said the interviewer is in some meeting so he cant take the interview now and asked me to leave. She said she will schedule a video call round next week.

So I want to share my experience interviewing with Plivo. I asked HR upfront about the interview process, and they confirmed 6 rounds. If I cleared all, they would hire me. The process was: Round 1: Test assignment, Round 2: Discussion on Assignment, Round 3: Tech round, Round 4: Tech round, Round 5: Discussion with director, Round 6: HR discussion. The whole thing took 14 days. First week was the assignment, and the second week was in-person interviews. After clearing everything, HR confirmed I was hired for the voice team and I had to meet the EM of the voice team. They also asked for my payslip and employer details. I spent 3 sleepless nights on the test assignment, writing clean code. I had to take half-day leave for the first interview, managed the second interview despite a critical release at my current company, and took another day off for the third interview. The EM asked HR questions, not about the team or work. I also wasted money on cabs traveling 15km to the office. After all this, I got an email saying they are not hiring me. The EM judged my skills in 15 mins, which HR and others couldn't do in hours. My questions to senior management: 1) Why tell me 6 rounds if you finish early? 2) If the EM round was the knockout, why not inform me? 3) Why not reject me after the first round? 4) Why waste my time if your process was unclear? My advice to management: Send the right people for interviews, improve the process, and don't waste candidates' time.