My Rollercoaster Ride with JB's Hiring Process – A Candid Retrospective
Hello, fellow tech enthusiasts,
I’m taking a moment to share a recent experience that was as enlightening as it was baffling – my hiring journey with JB. This is not a rant, but rather a candid reflection on a process that I believe could be much more candidate-friendly.
The Ups:
1. The Human Touch: The team’s verbal communication skills during video calls were commendable. Real people, real conversations – that’s rare and appreciated.
2. The Q&A Dance: Their questions were a nice blend of technical and non-technical. It felt like they were genuinely interested in understanding both my mind and my mindset.
The Downs – And Oh, There Were a Few:
1. The Marathon: From application to feedback, it spanned half a year. In tech terms, that’s close to a geological era.
2. The Not-So-Great Wall of Tasks: The test task dropped in September, with a Statement of Work following suit. But then, radio silence until October. My anticipation was a pot on perpetual simmer – never quite boiling over.
3. The ‘Task’trophe: This task was something else. Imagine a puzzle, where the pieces are also puzzles. Eighty hours of head-scratching, keyboard-smashing ‘fun’.
4. The Ghosting: Not to be dramatic, but communication during the task phase felt like shouting into the void. My status updates seemed to vanish into the ether.
5. The Waiting Game: Fast-forward, and my task was done – a neat bow on this package of persistence. Yet, it took 23 days to get a “Thanks, but…” That’s a whole season in some countries.
6. The Elusive Code Review: A proposed code review session vanished like a magician’s final act – poof, and it was gone.
7. The Puzzling Feedback: The feedback I did receive felt like it was for a different project. Did we have a design doc in common? You wouldn’t think so.
8. Sweating the Small Stuff: And when the feedback came, it focused on the sprinkles, completely ignoring the sundae. As if the cherries were all that mattered.
9. The Missing Verdict: After all the effort, the grand finale was missing – no clear ‘yay’ or ’nay’. Was the task a masterpiece or a mess? The jury’s still out, and it seems they’ve taken an extended lunch break.
The Twist – Is There One?
Now, they say after the storm comes the rainbow, but this time, I’m squinting to see it. I’ve been nudged towards other roles in the company, but it feels a bit like being asked to jump back into the sea after barely surviving a storm. And the life jacket? A $144.5 discount on their product. It’s a nice gesture, but does it really acknowledge the effort?
In Conclusion
I remain cautiously optimistic about JB. There’s a part of me that believes in second chances, that hopes the feedback like mine will spark some positive change in their hiring process. I’d like to think that future candidates will face a less daunting challenge – that the feedback loop will be tighter, the tasks less cryptic, and communication more like a two-way street.
For anyone out there about to embark on this journey with JB, may the odds be ever in your