I’d like to share an unfortunate interview experience that I believe highlights the importance of professionalism, humility, and preparation in the hiring process.

Recently, I was interviewed by someone significantly junior in both experience and industry exposure. From the beginning, the approach was condescending, starting with, “Tell me something that’s not on your resume,” which I answered politely.

Next came a self-rating exercise across skill sets like JavaScript, Git, and databases. While I participated in good faith, I firmly believe that such self-assessments are subjective and rarely reflective of actual capability—especially for professionals with 7–8 years of experience. Growth is always ongoing, and no one is a 10/10 in everything.

The technical part began with a basic coding challenge. I was asked to execute the solution using the browser console. I agreed, though this is not standard practice for interviews. He then stated, “The code must run in one go or it’s not acceptable,” which I found overly rigid and impractical.

Due to a recent Chrome update, I had trouble pasting code in the console. Instead of being understanding, he said, “If you're an engineer, fix this Chrome issue first,” in a tone that was more about ego than assessment.

After resolving the issue, my code ran correctly on the second attempt. However, rather than evaluating the logic, the focus shifted to changing the input type to function mid-discussion—like turning an array into a string or a boolean mix—just to find faults, despite the initial agreement on the input type, which was an array of integers.

Further questions followed:

• HOC in React – Answered correctly
• Promises – Answered and demonstrated with code
• Array.sort() – Explained lexicographic behavior; didn’t recall the exact callback internals
• Database Normal Forms – Asked how to convert 2NF to 1NF, which is not a common or practical approach
• BCNF – Answered partially; this is an academic topic not often used in practical contexts
• Prototypes, query selectors, truthy/falsy values – Answered, but the environment felt more like a rapid-fire test than a thoughtful technical discussion

Throughout the process, it became clear the goal wasn't to assess capability but to assert superiority. The final remark was, “Do you think you performed as per your ratings?”—a question that again showed a lack of constructive intent.

It’s disappointing to see such interviews happen at large organizations like SAP. I strongly recommend companies evaluate the experience and maturity of those they assign as interviewers, like him. The interview process should be about mutual respect, real-world skill evaluation, and thoughtful dialogue—not about ego or gatekeeping.

HOC in React – Answered correctly.

Promises – Answered and demonstrated with code.

Array.sort() – Explained lexicographic behavior; didn’t recall the exact callback internals.

Database Normal Forms – Asked how to convert 2NF to 1NF, which is not a common or practical approach.

BCNF – Answered partially; this is an academic topic not often used in practical contexts.

Prototypes, query selectors, truthy/falsy values – Answered, but the environment felt more like a rapid-fire test than a thoughtful technical discussion.