In July 2021, I received an invitation for an interview call with a hiring manager.

We connected via video call to discuss the role and assess my technical experience. After I gave a brief introduction, the hiring manager said something along the lines of, "What qualifies you for this role?"

I recall discussing my experience with CI/CD and end-to-end application testing. I also shared my development and testing experience with Python, along with my open-source contributions.

After I answered, the hiring manager posed the question again, "What qualifies you for this role? Why should I hire you?"

I reviewed my response, this time adding more specific details.

The hiring manager asked for a third time, saying something along the lines of, "What qualifies you for this role? Why should I hire you? I really need to find people quickly, and you're not giving me a good enough reason."

At that point, I detected frustration and hostility. I continued to state my case, but no matter what I said, the hiring manager seemed unhappy with my response.

After continuous failures, I remember saying something along the lines of, "Well, it seems like you are not interested in pursuing me further as a candidate. Thank you for your time, but I think we're done here."

I would have preferred to receive a rejection email rather than going through that experience.

Lesson learned: Never apply or interview at Veeva Systems again.

What qualifies you for this role?

Why should I hire you?