I had one of the weirdest interview experiences, with Wise. Wise, a company that highly emphasizes and advocates for its mission and values.
The initial interview was scheduled for March 10, 2026. I joined the call punctually (2 min prior to start time) and waited for around 8-10 minutes for the recruiter to appear. When I didn’t see the interviewer joining, I sent out an email to the recruiter (replying to interview invite). Surprisingly, the interviewer responded, stating that they had joined, waited for 5 minutes, and dropped off because I had not joined! Now this was an utter shock to me. I quickly double-checked the invite link, the date and time of the invite, everything. I was absolutely where I should be. I had doubts, “is it possible that the interviewer forgot to add me to the room (since I was waiting in the lobby all this time)?” I panicked and wondered how to address this. I decided to address it calmly, and giving the benefit of doubt, I sent an email mentioning that there could be a technical glitch at the platform end, but I am pretty confident that I was waiting in the lobby for over 30 minutes now. After almost an hour, I received an email acknowledging a technical problem on their end and requesting a reschedule. But for when? Again a radio silence for 2 days!! They shared the invite link for 18 Mar, 2026.
During the rescheduled interview, upon admission to the meeting room, the recruiter mentioned that they are not in good health and refrained from turning the camera on! I offered to reschedule, but the recruiter insisted that we proceed with it. It felt awkward and impersonal, not aligning with the company’s espoused “people-first” culture. I found this disappointing, as it hindered the opportunity to establish a rapport or feel the "human" connection often highlighted by Wise. The interview covered standard questions, including: Introduce yourself, motivation for joining Wise, salary expectations, previous roles and responsibilities, etc. I answered them all with confidence, structuring my responses using the revised-STAR method (order: Result → Situation → Task → Action).
By Friday, 20 Mar, 2026, I received a template rejection email without any structured or personalised feedback. While the rejection itself was regrettable, the absence of feedback was particularly disappointing, especially given the company website's assurance of providing substantial feedback to candidates. I reached out to them requesting feedback (and a way for me to provide my own feedback to them). My intention was not to challenge their decision, which I still respect, but rather to obtain constructive feedback that would facilitate my professional development and future performance. I have yet to receive a response.
I’m sharing this feedback respectfully, as I still believe Wise is doing great work as a company, but I hope the candidate experience can be more consistent with the values and transparency the company promotes.
