After I applied, it took the recruiter over a month to reach out to me. They reached out by email, requesting responses to screening questions that are usually asked during a screening call.

My assumption was this was the recruiter's attempt to streamline their workload. Either way, it was very impersonal, so I requested a phone screening to have the opportunity to discuss the position and give myself an opportunity to ask any questions.

The recruiter reluctantly scheduled a phone screening, then called 20 minutes past the scheduled time. Instead of taking ownership over their tardiness, they used their busy schedule and lateness to justify why they sent a screening email instead.

After that, they decided they wanted to conduct a checklist-style interview with no attempts to actually discuss any of my qualifications and experience. When I expressed, "I'm looking for a competitive salary for my qualifications and experience" and inquired about the target salary range for the position, they refused to share then demanded that I share my salary expectation.

Then they continued to lecture me on how they had never been asked for a target salary range in their many years of recruiting. Which made me question their integrity, since this type of inquiry is pretty common and reflects pay transparency from a company these days.

Tired of the unprofessionalism, I simply hung up and sent them an email detailing why I was no longer interested in working with them as a recruiter.

I rated this interview very difficult just due to the unprofessionalism that the recruiter exhibited towards a qualified and experienced software engineer candidate (not that it would have been justified if the candidate was unqualified and inexperienced).

As a candidate's first impression of the company, they should have at least conducted themselves professionally and treated a fellow professional with the respect that they were being given.

They only asked the questions they sent in the email and avoided any discussion.

• What is your current location?
• If you are not local, are you willing to relocate within a commutable distance?
• Are you open to a hybrid schedule?
• Please provide an estimate of your salary expectations.
• Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?
• Will you now or in the future require sponsorship?