This was the worst interview experience in my entire professional life. Roku really needs to rethink its hiring strategy if it wants to get good employees in order to succeed.

I had never applied for the position of senior software engineer, audio for the Roku Austin location. I don't live in Austin, but I live in Texas. A recruiter from Roku California (let's call him recruiter A) contacted me for this role. The role seemed interesting and I was a match to a tee, but I politely declined, saying that I don't live in Austin. Recruiter A insisted, saying that I could work from home and, over time, if I felt like it, they would assist in moving me to Austin for this. I was not against the idea of moving, and the role was a perfect match. I explained that I was willing to consider it if I didn't have to move on day 1. I have all the email correspondence of this conversation.

The first round of phone interviews with two engineers went very, very well. Recruiter A called to set up an online HackerRank coding interview, which also went excellent. After this, recruiter A called back, saying they wanted to proceed with the next round of phone interviews, but he would pass my case to recruiter B, located in Austin, since the position is Austin-based. He mentioned again and again that he had talked to the hiring manager and that person was fine with me not moving to Austin.

Recruiter B in Austin never contacted me. This was flag 1. I tried following up with recruiter A. After three weeks, I heard from recruiter B. She changed the tune about relocation. She claimed that they would never have an employee work from home and that recruiter A had misguided me. This was flag 2. Recruiter A claimed that recruiter B knows nothing about hiring, and they openly started bad-mouthing each other -- flag 3, 4, 5, etc. I was shocked at the open display of unprofessional behavior. Flag 6.

After a couple of weeks more, I decided to give it a chance since I had done three interviews already. I told recruiter B that I would consider moving to Austin, as long as everything was perfect (salary, relocation assistance, etc.).

Recruiter B, who was now in charge (and still being unresponsive for days), arranged a video interview with the manager and another peer. She did not even set up the online meeting tool properly. I had to call her multiple times after the interview time to fix the problem. The interview started late, but the manager seemed happy. The second video interview was with a peer who seemed to be working on his laptop the entire time. He did not have the courtesy to listen or even look at the video.

It took about 2.5 months of my time to go through several rounds of interviews and mentally plan an Austin move. Recruiter B became very chummy, suggesting I meet up in Austin and how much everyone liked me.

One day, out of nowhere, I got an automated email saying that I was not a match for this role. Seriously, Roku? After misleading a candidate and then wasting 2.5 months of their time, your recruiter cannot even call to inform them of your decision? After trying forever to get in touch with recruiter B, she mentioned that everybody was happy with the interviews except the person who kept working on my video interview. She had the audacity to suggest that I should apply for other open positions in Austin, since everyone liked me in the interviews. What?

After reading the other reviews about Roku's interview process, I am convinced that they have no respect for their employees or their time. The recruiters and hiring manager that I came across have been utterly disrespecting and unprofessional. Looking at the other reviews, I'm glad I didn't get an offer. I just regret losing 2.5 months over this and getting treated like trash.

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