Interview 1: HR person #1.
Interview 2: Hiring manager.
Interview 3: A person in a similar position.
Interview 4. A director.
Interview 5: 4-person panel including hiring manager from interview 2.
Interviews 1-4 were fairly standard and pretty reasonable, but several of the interviewers were 10+ minutes late, which left a bad taste.
Interview 5 was a bit rougher in that I was supposed to give a presentation on 4-5 pre-determined topics, except I received these topics 1-1.5 hours before the call, and was told I'd be getting asked questions on these topics; zero mention of doing any sort of presentation. This caught me very much off guard.
These 5 interviews were over a span of 6 weeks, with the panel interview being on Friday of week 6.
Here is how week 7 went:
Monday - I receive an offer from another firm, notify recruiter #1 at CouchBase and ask whether they will also be making an offer. I get a positive response - yes, an offer will be made shortly.
Tuesday - Recruiter #1 gives me an update with some details, including figures of the offer they want to make. #1 promises a written offer in my inbox, ready for my Docusign signature "at absolute latest tomorrow afternoon." #1 explains that the offer details are a done deal, everyone has signed off on them, and the deal just needs the "finance person's" stamp of approval for the amount of RSUs, which shouldn't be a problem.
Wednesday - Recruiter #1 is sick and introduces me to recruiter #2. This is where things disintegrate. #2 calls me and spends 20 minutes exhibiting every horrible quality from every bad recruiter you've ever dealt with.
- Talks non-stop without letting me get a word in sideways.
- Contradicts recruiter #1, says my offer is nowhere close to being a done deal and that no one has approved anything. (Suggesting that at least one of these recruiters was lying to me.)
- Mentions no less than a dozen times that compensation in Canada (where I am) is lower, and they will refer to "the market" for figures, etc., etc., clearly setting me up for a lowball.
The promised early afternoon comes and goes, no offer. Recruiter #2 finally calls me at 4pm and gives me yet another VERBAL offer ("still don't have paperwork") that is:
- $32,000 USD lower on annual base than what was promised yesterday
- $35,000 USD lower in RSUs than what was promised yesterday
They lied. They disregarded their own promises and timelines. They pulled a blatant bait & switch at the very last minute. Do you want to work for a company where this is apparently acceptable practice?
Offer declined.