3 rounds of interviews - 30 min phone screen, 1.5 hour Zoom class with different teams, final presentation of data set analysis. I was able to make it to the last round, however, I chose to pull out of the process after I had spent over 10 hours while on PTO working on the presentation. 15 min before my interview I was asked to rework my entire presentation and they had “never seen it done like this before”. This whole experience was extremely stressful and a bad indicator of what the job would entail (high stress, no work life balance). Additionally, it seemed like an impossible ask to basically create their own software from scratch.

Had a quick call with the head of the department that I thought went well, especially since we had similar backgrounds and goals. I was moved on to a few panel interviews that I also thought went well but was then informed afterwards that I wouldn't be moving forward to the presentation part of the interview process. Honestly, they did me a favor. After seeing how much time others have had to work on that presentation only to be torn down professionally, I'm glad I didn't waste any more time that I did - which was probably around 3-4 hours. I reached out to those who interviewed me for feedback and the ones that did respond, said I was recommended for the role by them (I would hope they wouldn't lie about that) but the ultimate decision was to pass by higher-ups. I heard they went with some lesser experienced people so it may have been salary-related decisions. Either way, if you interview, be prepared to have an exciting cheer ready to go because even if you think you're showing excitement for the role, chances are it's not enough for them.