Q-Centrix Interview Questions
& Process

The hiring process was pretty simple. First, a recruiter called me to check if I could work the required hours and confirm my qualifications. If that went well, the hiring manager contacted me. They asked some typical questions. The hiring process took a while; I got the offer in November but didn't start until January.

The recruiter contacted me about basic questions on my past work and education. They mentioned that I was a good fit and that an interviewer would review my resume and contact me the following week to schedule a video interview. However, the following week came and went without any contact, and I instead received an automated rejection email. My resume is accurate and current, so it appears the recruiters and interviewers were not aligned, given the transition from 'exactly what we are looking for' to an automatic rejection.

The office was small and located in Hillcrest, not very decorated and on a budget, with no parking, but in a cool area. Most people there seemed to be in their early 20s, and I later found out many came from coding bootcamps. The interview had 3 rounds with 2 developers each. They seemed unprepared or inexperienced with interviewing, asking random tech questions and about my background, but not using whiteboarding for algorithms, pair programming, or domain modeling. I felt it was an ineffective way to assess a candidate's suitability. A few days later, the recruiter told me I'd have to lower my salary target by $5k, saying they might have been mistaken about their flexibility. I accepted this adjustment and agreed to do a take-home test, hoping it would lead to an offer. I completed the test the following Sunday, going above and beyond with a simple, well-factored implementation in idiomatic Ruby/Rails and thorough test coverage. The recruiter then said they chose someone "cheaper and more malleable." I found this feedback odd, especially since it related to the in-person interviews, not the take-home test. Given I was 40 at the time, I'm concerned about potential age discrimination. The salary offered was also significantly lower than what the position paid 1.5 years prior and is about 20-30% below market rate for similar roles in San Diego.

I had a phone screen first, and then an in-person interview. For the in-person, I met with two people for 30 minutes each. One interviewer seemed unprepared, and the other, while prepared, felt a bit cold. They said they'd follow up but I never heard back. I felt like they weren't really engaged with the current job market or the candidate experience, like I was bothering them. They made me feel like they were doing me a favor by interviewing me. I think they forgot I was interviewing them too. Even though I didn't get an offer, the company seems to have potential and people seem to like working there. They really need to improve how they handle the candidate experience.