Zentist Interview Questions
& Process

Got past the application, then a recruiter chat, then talked to the hiring manager. Had to do a case study or practical thing, then met with some stakeholders, and then they made a decision. They were checking my skills, past experience, how I solve problems, and if I'm a good fit for the team. The whole thing took about 3 weeks.

So the interview process was pretty streamlined, finished it up in about a week. First, I chatted with the Lead Product Manager, who'd be my boss, to get a feel for the Technical Product Manager role. Then, I met with the CTO to talk about my software dev background and how I connect business needs to tech docs. After that, it was a meeting with the CEO to make sure we were on the same page about company vision and future plans. Finally, I talked with some of the product managers I'd be working with, covering my PM experience, how I solve problems, and how I'd handle a specific scenario they threw at me. All in all, it was a solid way to see how things work here.

The interview process was supposed to have 4 stages: CTO, co-founder, and team members. One stage got canceled. Most of the interview was just chatting, with only two easy professional tests in one interview. Then things got weird. At the last stage, they wanted recommendations from a former colleague and boss, to be submitted by Friday evening, preferably before Monday. I scrambled over the weekend to find people. They said the recommendations weren't 'fresh' enough and I needed more from recent jobs. HR got really pushy, repeatedly asking for 'fresh' recommendations to satisfy 'the Process'. I felt like I was in a Groundhog Day-like situation. I got an offer via email, but HR kept bugging me about the 'Process' and recommendations, even after I explained people have lives and might be on vacation. I got scared, blocked HR, and emailed the CTO to see if we could bypass HR. He said yes. I accepted the offer and started wrapping up other interviews. Later that day, the CTO retracted the offer, citing a 'misfit'. It's ironic to hear about 'people over processes' during an interview and then be betrayed after accepting an offer because of 'the Process'. It felt like a company protecting its interests despite obligations. I also heard there were two final candidates, suggesting a 'hire one, discard one' approach. People were nice initially, but then it turned surreal. I was looking forward to working with them.

It was a pretty informative interview. They explained the company and what the daily tasks involve. Then we had a group interview over Zoom where they asked us questions about insurance billing on the spot to check our knowledge. They got back to us about a week and a half later to schedule one more "interview" before getting us signed up.