I interviewed for BrightDrop.

Don't apply.

I had zero contact with a recruiter and just had "AI" email me that I'm invited to the next step after each round.

int redFlag = 0

They had a "guide" on how to interview there, but clearly it's not for the tech people (all about STAR or emailing "Thank you" to the interviewer).

Each interview I had there, they never told me what to expect. That's right! The calendar invites had nothing but the name of the interviewer and the Microsoft Teams link.

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For software engineers, it's basically the same format for all your FAANG interviews.

I would have been okay with these if I had an inkling of an idea on what the call was going to be. By now, I have told you more about the interview process than the "recruiter" or the PDF they share.

First call was a hiring manager round. We scheduled a day/time that was open in his calendar. I showed up to it, and it was clear he wasn't showing up. I rescheduled, and on the actual call, the guy didn't even bother apologizing that we missed each other. Uhm, guy, I waited 15-20 minutes for you to show up last time. You didn't give me a heads-up. I deserve at least an acknowledgement.

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Lots of technical detail, and sometimes the guy seemed asleep or disinterested. And in some cases, questioned my experience ("Really, you did this? That's weird, that's also part of your job").

redFlag += 1

Next round, we screenshared a LeetCode medium. Really, not even a Google Doc? Ever heard of CoderPad? Anyway, we finished, and the guy seemed happy.

redFlag += 2 # 1 for each technical round

Lastly, my systems design round, we did not have a shared pad. We basically just talked approaches and constraints. I offered to share my screen so I could write down thoughts and be organized, but the interviewer declined it. There were many cases where I could have back-referenced something based on what I wrote or visualized my recommendation. It was difficult to just talk and talk approaches perfectly without being able to write down stuff.

And of course, as a result, the interviewer also made me repeat something I already said. Hmm, I wonder what could have happened if I was able to write the requirements and diagram down?

I got a rejection right away with no feedback.

Final redFlag count -> 5.

Avoid this company at all costs.

Grill your resume on tech and why you used certain tech.