I spent over three to four weeks going through Okta’s interview process, making it all the way to one of the final rounds. By that point, I had invested a lot of time preparing, interviewing, and genuinely considering what it would be like to work there. Unfortunately, the experience ended up being one of the most unprofessional and frustrating processes I’ve ever gone through.

The breaking point was my very first panel interview. The interviewer showed up 30 minutes late and, despite the delay, still ended the call right at the scheduled time. That left almost no room for a meaningful technical discussion. I had spent weeks preparing, but instead of being given a fair opportunity to demonstrate my skills, I was essentially cut short because someone else couldn’t respect my time. And to make matters worse, nobody from Okta even tried to reschedule or give me another chance.

What’s even more disappointing is that the rest of the team knew this happened. They were aware their colleague had been completely unprofessional, yet there was no effort to make it right. No extra round, no acknowledgment of how unfair that situation was — just a generic rejection email saying I “didn’t make the cut.” Meanwhile, they’ve continued to post the exact same position I interviewed for. So not only was my time wasted, but it’s clear they weren’t even serious about filling the role in a professional manner.

It’s one thing to lose out on a role because another candidate was stronger. That’s part of the process, and I can accept that. But it’s a whole different story to go through weeks of interviews, have the final rounds tainted by an interviewer who couldn’t even show up on time, and then be dismissed with no accountability or fairness. That’s not just disappointing — it’s disrespectful.

For a company of Okta’s size and reputation, this is a huge red flag. If this is how they treat candidates, I can only imagine how little accountability exists internally. Respect for people’s time and effort should be the bare minimum, and Okta failed miserably on that front.

In short: the process was a waste of time, handled with zero professionalism, and left me with a very negative impression of the company. Candidates deserve better, and Okta needs to take a serious look at how it treats people who are genuinely interested in joining their team.

Basic behavioral questions and LeetCode easy