My experience was mixed.
The HR screening was excellent. The recruiter was professional, engaging, and left me excited about the opportunity.
Unfortunately, the second-round interview was a stark contrast. The tone felt adversarial from the outset, and the conversation rarely felt like an attempt to understand how my background aligned with the role. Instead of building on my responses or exploring the depth of my experience, many follow-up questions seemed focused on identifying gaps or challenging individual details, even after I provided specific examples from complex enterprise customer success environments, wins, technical acumen, and more.
I don't mind difficult interviews. I've worked with highly technical products and enterprise customers throughout my career, and I welcome thoughtful technical discussions. What was missing here was curiosity. I left feeling that the objective was less about evaluating whether I could succeed in the role and more about testing whether my resume could be disproven.
Interviews are a two-way evaluation, and while this approach may work for some candidates, it wasn't the kind of leadership or team dynamic I was looking for. The experience helped me realize this would not have been the right fit for me, which I'm glad for. I was happy to give a small start up a chance, but I received an offer with a more positive, engaged, and technical team, which is great.
**Pros:** Professional and positive HR experience. Interesting product.
**Cons:** Adversarial interview style that didn't feel focused on understanding candidate strengths, transferable experience, or overall fit.