Declined Offer Negative Experience Easy Interview

Application I applied through an employee referral. The process took 6 days. I interviewed at Uber (San Francisco, CA) in June 2016.

Interview Very unique experience. I'd heard of Uber rescinding offers, but never experienced or seen anyone else experiencing it. Somehow, I really experienced it.

I applied to core infra and somehow got interviews with the money team. The interviews were very easy, and I received a phone call saying they were willing to extend an offer just a day later. I had recently graduated from a top CS program a year prior and had offers from some top software companies and a top hedge fund, with compensation packages both exceeding $250k for an entry-level position. As Uber is one of the fastest-growing companies, I wanted to give it a try.

HR asked for my current compensation, and that's where the weirdness began. I inquired about opportunities in other teams, as my background wasn't strongly related to the money team. Somehow, HR stated the most obvious lie: "Uber right now, except for the money team, is looking for senior people with 5 or more years of work experience." I insisted, and then he said, "You cannot shop around; that is not how Uber's hiring process works." He also mentioned that if I were not interested in the money team, he would not proceed with an offer. I was interviewing with Uber, not specifically the Uber money team.

I picked one team among many that my Uber friends recommended and informed HR. My friends had contacts working in that team and knew they were hiring junior people. After that, HR was unresponsive to my emails or phone calls for almost a day (I had other pending offers due in 2 days) and failed to deliver the promise of generating an offer within a day (it was day 4 by then). I was very annoyed, so I asked my referral friend to find the HR for the team I was interested in. I emailed her and CC'ed my current HR. My HR finally replied and again stated there was no position in that team. Given the information from my friends who contacted team members, they were indeed hiring junior people, so my HR had essentially lied to me. He also threatened not to generate an offer if I insisted on changing teams, stating it showed my lack of interest in the money team. I put up with a lot of his nonsensical statements, as I was still waiting for the final package.

Later, HR finally provided an update. This time, a phone call came from his manager. The HR manager informed me they had decided to rescind the offer. He believed my inflexibility was not a fit for Uber. (I argued that I had expressed interest in other teams, HR told me I couldn't shop around, and then picking a specific team somehow became inflexibility), and he also collaborated with his employee, falsely claiming the team was not looking for junior people.

I am very fortunate to have received offers from other companies and am excited to join one of them. This experience really makes me reflect on how Uber treats its employees, such as exploiting drivers and firing engineers. I don't know anything about these incidents or people, but based on my interaction with them, I believe my Uber HR's behavior was unethical.

I said I'd like to see other teams, and HR told me I cannot shop around. Once I picked a specific team, that turned into my inflexibility. He also played along with his employee, lying that the team was not looking for junior people.