I applied for an Engineering Manager role at Bolt, Tallinn.

I had a short call with the recruiter. She was very unprofessional at the beginning of our initial call. She postponed the call three times at the last minute.

Anyhow, we managed to have a call, and she explained the hiring process. Then I was interviewed by the hiring manager, who was the Senior Engineering Manager at Bolt.

The Hiring Manager behaved very rudely during the leadership round. Rather than seeking my opinion, he prejudged my answers and forcefully imposed his own views on me. At the start, the Hiring Manager introduced the project and a bit about himself. Then he stated that he didn't want to know about my history and experience; he didn't even ask me to introduce myself.

The very first question he asked was, "Did you fire anyone in the company?" When I tried to explain the circumstances of letting someone go from my experience, he was not listening and started misbehaving. He carried a bossy attitude.

From his point of view, if the team reaches out to you and shares feedback, you don't need to do anything about that feedback. In fact, you do not have to collect feedback from your team in any matter.

He later asked, "If I could do coding?" To which I replied that I have been a developer for the last seven years and can do coding. He responded that we would find out in the next round. His behavior raised a red flag for me.

The third question was, "About the author whom you follow for leadership?" I said I attend webinars, workshops, agile meetings, and online courses to keep myself updated with the latest trends and technologies to enhance my leadership skills. He commented that all this is useless and a waste of time.

Lastly, he asked about the most important quality of a team. By that time, I said, "RESPECT." He looked at me as if I were an alien, as if he had never heard of how to give respect to other people and their opinions.

Overall, the experience was pathetic. I was surprised by this attitude from Bolt. Bolt claims to be one of the best employers in Estonia, yet their management behaves like this.

Did you fire anyone in the company?

Which author do you read to enhance your leadership skills?

Can you do coding?

What is the most important quality of the team?