The first conversation with a recruiter in London was amazing. A wide-reaching discussion covered topics like Spotify's business model, future product ideas (in general terms), and our shared management philosophies. It was like a mutual courtship that left me excited to join the company.

A recruiter from Stockholm followed up shortly to discuss next steps, which included a mini-SAT style test (maths, language, and pattern recognition) that was never mentioned again. Eventually, there was a video call with a couple of manager types in Stockholm that was fairly mundane. With time at the end for one question, I managed to strike a chord, which is probably what won me the on-site interview.

They covered the flight to and from Arlanda, as well as three nights' hotel just around the corner, leaving me with a lot of free time to walk and explore. If nothing else, I got good exposure to the city—enough that I know I could definitely live there.

The on-site consisted of an initial lunch with some engineers who were presumably from the team. Nice people, but their enthusiasm was in decline from the good ol' days. Three or four more group interviews with product managers, architects, and management left me wondering how the place was so special. The feeling of courtship was notably absent, in favor of standard verbal hoops to jump through. There was one gentleman who spent extra time with me to discuss the logistics of the move and life as an expatriate. That was the best part of the whole experience; I'm still very thankful for his time.

I was told when I left that I would hear something within a couple of days, even if it was a new date for a decision. After not hearing back for two weeks, I sent a follow-up email to see if I had been forgotten; no reply. Two weeks later, I submitted my reimbursement for travel, which woke someone up, and I got a rejection. The recruiter apologized for not being present when I was on-site, which makes me wonder if I was rejected mistakenly, since I spoke with her for at least an hour, likely more, while in Stockholm.

Overall, the process was dull and uninspired, for all the good press about the way they operate. I'm not convinced they've spent the same effort on improving their hiring process that they've invested in their business processes.

I was asked to show up ready to discuss a product or system I had delivered of "sufficient complexity."