Zix Interview Questions
& Process

It was a pretty disorganized process from start to finish. First, I had a phone interview with the Hiring Manager in October. Then, I had a face-to-face with the HM in November. The HM mentioned there might be a delay because his new boss was adding another step. In January, the recruiting company contacted me, not knowing I'd already started interviewing. After passing their interview, I went back to the Hiring Manager in February, who seemed confused about why I was re-interviewing. I also completed an online assessment in February. Then, just waiting...

The hiring manager, who conducts all the software engineering interviews, presented an object-oriented programming (OOP) challenge. He introduced additional requirements as the interview progressed. Approximately an hour into the discussion, he asked me to demonstrate how the code could differentiate between two types of employees: one salaried and one paid hourly. Initially, I proposed using an if-conditional statement, which was functionally correct but not what he was looking for. I then suggested creating two distinct employee subclasses inheriting from a base Employee class. However, he deemed this approach unsuitable, stating that my initial inclination towards an if statement indicated I wasn't thinking in the way he preferred, and therefore, I wouldn't be a good fit. He mused that his interview method might have its flaws (admittedly, he hadn't reviewed my resume), but insisted it yielded the talent he sought. Towards the end, he mentioned that the recruiting agency had sent 20 candidates consecutively without any hires, expressing bewilderment at this outcome. He implied that even if an offer were extended, I would likely decline due to the negative first impression of the company. The overall experience felt intimidating and insulting, leaving me questioning the value of working in an environment where different thought processes are devalued. If one were to proceed with this company's interview process and succeed, a high salary demand is advised due to the interviewer's extreme pickiness.

The interview started with me describing the role I was applying for. The interviewer then interjected, claiming recruiters often misunderstand roles. They proceeded to rephrase my description, adding internal details I wouldn't know. A direct question followed: "What is a solution?" I defined it as a resolution to a customer's problem, but was corrected; the interviewer stated a solution involves the company deploying a device, virtual or physical, to a customer's site. Despite my networking and security background and the role not being technical, I was asked several technical questions, relevant because the job involves interacting with technical customers. When I inquired about software performance, patching, and handling TLS vulnerabilities, the interviewer responded with "I don't know, that's not my responsibility." My question about their reason for joining the company was met with a company history lesson instead of a direct answer. The entire interview felt like a series of trick questions, creating a tense atmosphere where I expected a "Gotcha!" moment. I decided not to proceed after this experience.

I got contacted by a third party and after a quick screening, I started the interview process. First, I talked to the hiring manager, which was a great chat. He was good at moving things forward even with distance and busy schedules. A couple of weeks later, I got to meet the head of enterprise sales, and that was a good conversation too. After talking with the head of HR and the hiring manager again, I was set to meet the VP of WW sales. I was feeling pretty good because everyone I met before was very positive. After a conversation with the VPWWS that I thought went well, the hiring manager called me the next day to say there were some concerns, and they decided not to move forward with me. I was pretty shocked and very disappointed, but that's how it goes sometimes.