Sila Solutions Group Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process included a pre-screening where I was informed the role might require 1-2 days onsite, though this was noted as subject to change. Following this, I was invited to an interview loop involving 5 people, with each session lasting 45 minutes, totaling about 2.5 hours of interviews. However, near the end, HR informed me that the role was not a match because I was unwilling to be onsite 4-5 days a week. I spent half a day interviewing and was rejected for a reason that should have been clarified during the initial screening. It seems there was a misalignment between what the team needed and what recruiting communicated, and they also didn't respect my time. Because of this, I wouldn't recommend interviewing with them.

So I interviewed with the Arlington office and the whole thing took about 3 weeks. First up was a phone screen with talent acquisition, which went well, and then I had a face-to-face with the director of finance and accounting. That also went so well that they set up a phone interview with a team member I'd be working with. That also seemed good, because then I met with a co-founder. We had a decent chat, and I really thought I had the job, or at least was close, but then they told me the co-founder didn't think I'd be a good fit, even though he gave good feedback. I'm not sure why he thought that, but I'm sure he knows best. I have a few ideas why, but whatever. Overall, I thought everyone liked me, but I guess the co-founder makes the final call, especially after multiple interview rounds.

A recruiter reached out via email to schedule an initial phone chat about my resume and experience. Following that, a technical phone screen was set up with a team lead, covering my background and some technical topics. Next, I was invited to the Arlington office for three interviews happening back-to-back with a manager and two engineers. The engineers asked about my resume and touched on OOP and basic algorithms, though no traditional whiteboard coding was involved. The manager's focus was more on getting to know me and addressing any questions I had. The whole process felt positive and comfortable from start to finish.

I got a call from HR for a phone interview after applying at a school career fair. The first thing they did was ask me for a general self-overview, but they didn't seem to like my resume summary. They sounded disengaged and kind of adversarial about my community college degree before my 4-year one. The call was 15 minutes but felt longer, with no technical questions, and the interviewer seemed uninterested and annoyed from the start. It was the worst interview I've had.