This interview took place a few years ago, yet it was such a dreadful experience that I have never forgotten what happened, and I feel compelled to share my review of the process here. I was initially contacted by a recruiter about a UX Designer position in the Tokyo office of Indeed. We had an informal discussion to screen my suitability and I then formally applied. The second round was with a senior designer, conducted over a video call. I recall that during the conversation he had his head stuck in his laptop and it felt as though he was disengaged. I did not hear anything for a couple of weeks, so I asked the recruiter, who replied and said the person who interviewed me thought I ‘seemed a little junior’ - the feedback did not include any examples of why they had come to this conclusion. Note that when this interview took place I had 15 years experience working for large corporations and e-commerce platforms. A few weeks later, after having been rejected, the recruiter contacted me to say that Indeed had reconsidered my interview and perhaps they had made the wrong decision, so I was asked to take part in the next step of the process. Although I had my reservations, I agreed. The next step was to produce a solution based on a brief, and to present the solution to a group of stakeholders online. I was given the email address of the senior designer who had initially interview me, so I could ask questions. I contacted him twice to ask about data points that could help me understand the user needs and business requirements. Each time he told me to make my own assumptions. I produced a proposed design of a feature for the Indeed app that included interview questions in company profiles. Essentially I produced design work for free, with no support from Indeed. I presented my solution via video call to a group of disengaged blank faces... and never heard from anyone ever again. No feedback, nothing. In all my years interviewing, as both a candidate and interviewer, I’ve never experienced such unprofessional conduct. The irony that this happened interviewing at a job search company is not lost. Today I am Head of Design at a successful tech company, so I can say with confidence that it truly was Indeeds loss, not mine.

Though I didn't advance in interview process, I received valuable feedback and the manager mentioned he would stay in contact. I am new to the design field and the role I interviewed for required 3 years experience, but I was offered an opportunity to interview, which I greatly appreciated.