Everyone I met was really friendly and professional, every step of the process was laid out clearly and I didn't have to wait very long for any replies or feedback. I initially applied for the role because the job description outlined that they were looking for someone with experience with front-end technologies, specifically React, TypeScript and GraphQL, as well as a willingness to learn and expand technical skills in other parts of their stack (AWS, NodeJS, Golang). I'm primarily a Front End Engineer and am definitely interested in expanding into other technical areas. It was disappointing that the technical interview I undertook had a front end and back end part, which I was not expecting. Consequently, I knew I was going to fail this technical from the get go because I was being asked to implement functionality beyond my current skillset. It was somewhat disheartening to receive feedback that it was 'concerning' that I couldn't sufficiently explain how to create a new endpoint or a database schema, Had I known that this was going to be part of the assessment I wouldn't have wasted everyone's time. I think they need to make it clear in the job description that they are looking for a Full Stack Engineer.

Phone recruiter interview was meant to find out a bit more about myself after getting through a first round of online questions (coding, cultural and process). There intentionally was no CV submission, so they weren't aware of my employment history and that I was in the process of changing career. The recruiter explained that they don't care how you acquire the skills, as long as you can do the job- which was encouraging to hear, given that even a lot of "entry" software roles ask for 1-2 years experience! He explained over the phone that I would progress to a next coding challenge round by default. However, a day later I was emailed and told that I would not be progressing due to my experience... At first I was very complimentary of the process- but if they are going to discount me based on experience rather than merit then the whole thing seems very flawed and frustrating.