Vokal Interview Questions
& Process

I was contacted by a recruiter and had a preliminary phone interview. It was a bit strange because they brought up negative reviews from the past and mentioned that the company has evolved since 2017, yet there were still mixed reviews in 2019. This made me wonder about the validity of positive reviews. I was supposed to move forward, but things got a bit chaotic. They wanted to talk within the next day, potentially meeting a manager the day after, on very short notice, less than 24 hours after someone visited from out West. It seemed like they were eager to hire, but they admitted they've gone through this process multiple times without finding a suitable candidate. This suggested to me a lack of clear direction or understanding of their needs, besides the disorganized process. I understand that many candidates have full-time jobs and can't easily drop everything to interview without raising suspicion. The phone interview was okay, but there's a disconnect between recruitment and the hiring manager. They asked about client-to-client experience, which I'd already stated I don't have, and then they never followed up to inform me of their decision. The disorganized process, unclear requirements, and lack of communication about the status are reasons for negative feedback. If you're going to take up my time, at least have the courtesy to let me know what's happening.

The interview process involved two tests, one in Swift and another in Obj-C, and was expected to take about 3 hours. Although I passed both tests, I haven't received an offer or any feedback on why. For those interviewing at Vokal, pay close attention to the contract. It states that any code you create while working there belongs to Vokal, even if you developed it on your own time and computer. This means even your personal apps aren't truly yours, which is ridiculous. You should definitely challenge this part of the contract because it's like they're trying to turn you into a slave for a regular software engineer salary.

The interview process included a phone screen with the hiring manager, who is the director of product, and then an in-person interview in the same week. The hiring manager mentioned he'd give feedback within a week, but I didn't hear back after trying to follow up. It's important for companies to value candidates' time, especially when they travel for interviews. Basic courtesy is expected.

I knew someone at Vokal and they reached out about a job. I sent my resume and references through their website. Then I had some phone interviews, and then a test where I had to find bugs on a fake website.