Disappointing Experience Despite a Smooth Interview Process

I recently interviewed with Notion Labs and, unfortunately, had a disappointing experience despite what initially felt like a well-structured and engaging process.

I felt that all the rounds went well. The interviewers were professional and gave positive signals throughout. However, after investing significant time and effort, I was completely ghosted.

No feedback. Just silence. I was reached out by their head recruiter, confirming that other candidates were in the pipeline and a decision would be made by the end of the week. It has been over a month now without a word from them.

For a company that values thoughtful product design, this lack of communication post-interview was surprising and disappointing. Even a short rejection note or feedback would have been respectful and appreciated.

Advice to Notion Labs:

Please consider improving your candidate experience by providing timely updates or closure. It reflects poorly on your employer brand to leave candidates hanging after multiple rounds of interviews.

The first round was a screening interview with a fairly straightforward coding question. The focus was more on code quality and adherence to SOLID principles.

A system design interview that leaned more towards database modeling and writing SQL queries for the given requirements.

A pair-programming session with a follow-up, focusing on code readability, correctness, and solution trade-offs.