I applied online and received an update in two days. The recruiter called me, explained the role and the company, and then discussed my interests, current role, and responsibilities.

Next, the recruiter sent me a 10-minute HackerRank JavaScript quiz with 10 questions, to be completed in 15 minutes. The recruiter expected me to complete it within two to three days, but I did it immediately and asked for an update. The recruiter was surprised by my quick completion of the quiz and informed me that I had passed the test. In the following week, a one-hour technical interview was scheduled.

The one-hour technical interview was with one of the team members. It started with a general discussion about my current role and responsibilities, which I clearly explained. Then, the engineer told me about the work, the team, and the company.

The engineer gave me an easy question: to create a Spring Cleaning System with two piles – one to keep and one to throw away – and methods to add, remove, and display all items in the piles.

I really enjoyed solving this problem. I felt it was a realistic problem and started preparing for my next rounds of interviews.

After one week, the recruiter called and said the engineer gave negative feedback. The recruiter was very transparent and shared the feedback the engineer gave. The recruiter said the engineer helped me during the interview. The fact is, the engineer did not help me during the interview. I asked questions to get clarifications to solve the problem. An interview should always be a two-way street, not one-way. Any machine can solve it without asking any questions. I am not a machine; the engineer needed a machine.

Second, the recruiter told me the engineer did not understand my current role and responsibilities. I asked my recruiter the same question: Did you get my current role and responsibilities from our initial talk? She said yes. Then how come this engineer did not get the same? This is intentional rejection. Also, this was all about a tech interview. Why would this question make such a big difference?

After the interview, the engineer actually told me that I did excellent. How can you expect negative feedback after that? I am sure the engineer is just saving their job, not doing any work.

For Chewy, please do not have such people in the workplace. It will create a toxic culture. I felt this was a deliberate rejection.

In the end, Chewy missed out on a great Software Engineer like me.

Create a Spring Cleaning System with two piles:

1. Keep
2. Throw Away

Include methods to add, remove, and display all items in the piles.