I applied through a recruiter. The process took 5 days.

I have worked for 3 large tech companies, 2 startups, and currently run my own tech consultancy. In these roles, I've done software engineering, DevOps, solutions architecture, engineering management, and acted as CTO and CEO. Dealing with personalities is a natural part of a work environment. However, the shocking degree of rudeness would have been in violation of any HR policy, so I'm sharing my experience for the benefit of would-be future employees.

A recruiter reached out to me about a role. We scheduled some time and spoke on the generalities of the role. She told me she would book me with the hiring manager to schedule a technical assessment.

I entered the call and was led with the question, "Do you know who I am?" I said, "No, I presume you are the hiring manager." The gentleman responded, "Have you done any preparation for this?" It's obvious there has been some miscommunication over this. It seems as if this is some sort of assessment itself. I said, "No, I believe I am speaking to the hiring manager." I look at the title of the Zoom call, which is "Hiring Manager Interview with Vercel."

The guy responds, "Can you look up my name on the internet please?" I look him up. He's a senior director of field engineering. I start reading the description, and he says, "You don't need to read it out loud." He continues, "I would think that if someone schedules 30 minutes of time on your calendar, you would do some background research as to who they are and prepare accordingly."

I respond, "I was told that this was a call to schedule the upcoming technical assessment." He seemed agitated and says something along the lines of, "Hmmm, now how are we going to proceed here..." I responded, "With all due respect, I don't think we have a cultural fit here, so I'm going to end the call, thanks." He made some sort of remark, and the call ended. Take from this what you will.

Do you know who I am? Can you look up my name online?