This was one of the most disappointing interview experiences I’ve had.

One interviewer showed up 10 minutes late, then asked me to wait for the second interviewer—who never joined. No one followed up or acknowledged the issue. The remaining time was wasted on basic textbook-style questions like “Define X” and “What is Y,” despite being told the interview would focus on real-world experience.

Worse, the questions were vague, and when I asked for clarification, the interviewer simply repeated the same question without any attempt to engage or explain. It felt like they had no real interest in conducting the interview.

Given HSBC’s global reputation, I expected a far more professional and respectful process. This experience completely changed my perception of the company’s culture and engineering standards.

I was asked unclear questions like “What is the return type of Stream?” and was expected to give a one-word answer, despite the fact that the return type heavily depends on context and the specific stream operation being used. This showed a lack of technical depth and genuine interest in assessing real-world understanding.