Background & Level: Senior Full Stack Engineer
Timeline: HR call → Phone screen next day → Rejected immediately after.
Interview Process:
- Phone Screen:
- Process: Directly jumped into coding after brief introduction.
- Problem: Implement Rate Limiter.
- AI Usage: Explicitly allowed ("Just use AI"). Used Cursor + Gemini Flash.
- Follow-up: Interviewer seemed unprepared (no clear evaluation criteria). Ended with random Q&A due to extra time.
Key Observations:
- Company's AI coding process appears unstructured.
- Interviewer seemed unfamiliar with evaluating AI-assisted solutions.
- Suggestion: Slow down and discuss AI-generated code trade-offs even if solution is quick.