The screening process involved two stages. The recruiter emphasized a quick interview process.

The first stage was live peer coding. The second stage was competencies.

The job description for the role was not ready when the recruiter approached me for the screening chat. Little detail was provided when I asked, and what was told did not reflect what was needed for the first stage.

The recruiter verbally told me the first stage was peer coding, but the confirmation email said something different, which confused me.

Before I could understand the role and its expectations, a confusing first-stage peer coding exercise made me question Booking.com's recruitment practices. Was this a meaningful recruitment process?

The same evening after the interview, someone else from Booking.com sent me an invitation to their social event. It was sent to a different email address, so I asked where they obtained my contact information and if it was related to my application. Their staff refused to disclose this, stating only that they obtained my details from "an app."

I then received an automated email notifying me that I had failed the interview. It was the Booking.com recruiter who had approached me to apply for the role, and I was still unsure what they were looking for when I provided this feedback.