Wise seems like a good company, and I have friends who work there, but I found their interview process appalling and incredibly disrespectful of both me and my time.

It started out okay. I had the screening call, then the first two stages of interview; all good.

It took them over a month to get back to me again. Eventually, they realized their mistake and asked me to schedule the Product interview, so I sent my availability across. The recruiter only gave me 52 minutes' notice for the next interview.

When I joined, only one of the two interviewers was there. He was everything you'd want from an interviewer: warm, personable, friendly, and asking questions in an encouraging manner.

The second interviewer arrived 25 minutes late, mid-snack, and took over the questioning. His tone was a lot more hostile and brusque, especially contrasted with the warmth and congeniality of the other interviewer. From this point on, the questions I was asked were all about the Fintech industry, an area I know nothing about, and I wasn't able to prepare for as I had such short notice before the interview.

I was pressed relentlessly for half an hour. Then, eventually, I had enough and asked why I was being asked in-depth Product Manager questions for an Engineering Manager role. He said that they ask everybody this in case I ever move into a more Product-focused role, which frankly seems ridiculous. By this point, we were 15 minutes over our allocated slot, and the interview ended quite awkwardly.

I'm not sure who trains Wise's interviewers; perhaps the Stasi. But I would strongly recommend that you adapt your interview technique and begin to respect the time of your candidates a lot better.

Why do you want to work at Wise?