The interview process began with a conversation with the Hiring Manager, which was a very positive experience. The discussion was engaging, and it gave me a good impression of the team and the role.

However, the second round (technical interview) was disappointing. It was structured as 30 minutes of coding and 30 minutes of Q&A.

Unfortunately, the interviewer came across as dismissive and rigid. He insisted that my approach was “useless” without providing valid technical reasoning, which I found unprofessional and disrespectful — especially in a setting meant to evaluate collaboration and problem-solving, not just dogmatic correctness.

To make matters worse, the interviewer was a recent joiner at Rakuten, which made his overly authoritative attitude feel misplaced. Constructive dialogue and mutual respect are key to assessing candidates, and this round lacked both.

Overall, the first round showed promise, but the second round raised concerns about the team culture.

Asked about LeetCode (Snake game), the things I did in my current company.