The engineers who submitted my resume internally (whom I met at a job fair) and the engineer who interviewed me were both great. The process included a first round technical interview, a second, more advanced technical interview, and then a behavioral interview with the hiring manager.

The first interview was technical. We were given an Angular project scaffolded in Stackblitz. The task was to display a list of product names using an observable and the async pipe. Each product name then needed a routerLink that rendered a separate product detail component, also using an observable and async pipe. We could populate the product property on the product detail component using the activatedRoute and a getProductById() method that was already available on a scaffolded service.

Unfortunately, the recruiter was lacking. She was concise and unclear when scheduling the first interview, which she said would be conducted through some XOR AI system at Cisco. Her first email began as if we had spoken before, which we hadn't, so I had to ask clarifying questions about the interview process. She remained unclear about the scheduling.

This seemed quite silly to me, as scheduling is straightforward and something recruiters do daily. Asking for available times, explaining the process, and sending a confirmation email with a calendar link should not be difficult. This made the overall experience negative for me. I used to be a recruiter myself and dislike confusion and awkwardness around what should be a polite, easy scheduling experience.

When I didn't pass after the first interview—I had a hunch I wouldn't get the role as I had a moment of forgetfulness regarding the routerLink syntax—the recruiter sent an email asking for a quick chat. I wish she had stated I was rejected right away in an email, and then we could have scheduled a call if I wanted feedback. It is not considerate to let a candidate get their hopes up for a second interview, essentially blocking out time in their schedule for a call the next day, only to say the company will not be moving forward. Please state the company's decision immediately and do not raise my hopes or waste my time while I am trying to find a job.

Then, when she finally did call, she was late for it.

TLDR: The engineers and the actual interview at the company were good. The recruiter was both confusing and unprofessional.

Why is it important that you want to use the async pipe?