It started with a LinkedIn application, followed by an email from the recruiter to schedule a telephonic interview.

In the telephonic interview (video, audio, and screen share), they used specific software for the call. The interviewer enabled their video, and it was expected that I would do the same to conduct a face-to-face discussion.

My interview began with an explanation of the role, which felt like it was being read directly from a script. Then, I was asked about myself and my current role and responsibilities (this took 2-5 minutes).

Without asking further questions about my interest or how I could contribute to the role, the interviewer immediately presented a coding question and asked me to start coding.

The question was not a simple string manipulation or array problem, but rather a Map-based question. Frankly, it felt like a Level 3 question copied directly from LeetCode or HackerRank. The interviewer acknowledged the difficulty, stating they weren't expecting a complete solution but rather an explanation of how I would approach it. I began with a brute-force solution and explained my approach. The interviewer seemed to approve of the direction the discussion was taking, and it felt like a positive and constructive conversation, despite the coding challenge.

I proceeded to code the entire solution for this challenging question. During this process, the interviewer appeared pleased with my progress and occasionally asked questions to guide me toward a more optimized solution. I completed the solution, and the interviewer expressed satisfaction, literally stating it seemed like the right solution and that I had handled the problem well.

I felt very positive about my telephonic round, which turned out to be heavily focused on coding. The interviewer then mentioned they would share the results with the recruiter. I was happy and expected the recruiter to contact me the next day to schedule an onsite interview (given the pandemic, 'onsite' interviews were being conducted via Zoom).

However, even after two days, there was no communication from the recruiter. When I checked the careers portal for the same position, I was surprised to find it was no longer available.

On the third day, I emailed the recruiter to inquire about the interview results and whether the position was still open. I was truly surprised by the immediate response that same day, stating I would not be proceeding to the next rounds and could apply for other roles. I was very disappointed to read this email because I felt my interview had gone exceptionally well, and I was expecting an onsite interview. I couldn't understand if the rejection was due to my performance or if the position had been filled before my interview.

I am not a fresher in the industry, having worked for over 10 years with major product companies in end-to-end automation framework development. I also conduct interviews in my company for SDET roles. I am very confident that my interview went exceptionally well. I not only coded the solution but also explained every part of it while coding, optimized it, and used mind-mapping techniques. It was a complete solution that any high-quality interviewer would expect. Unfortunately, none of that seemed to matter. I am particularly disappointed because the interviewer appeared and spoke as if they were impressed with my skills and coding, which didn't seem to be the case after the interview.

MAP related question.

Cannot disclose.