The people I met with were all very friendly. It was nice talking to them. But there was something I didn't expect that scattered my dream.
The job description hasn't changed for years. When I first applied two years ago, I was assuming they used Java. The recruiter read to me their tech stack based on the job description. She did even say Java was primary and I didn't have to learn Kotlin. During the interview process, nobody mentioned they didn't use Java. And of course I didn't ask because I believed what the job description has.I didn't pass the interviews because I didn't prepare any OOD and system design.
I applied again recently. I think they are the best delivery company in Texas. It was my dream company. I was even willing to relocate to Texas because I think I could learn and run with them. I have prepared a lot of OOD and system design for the interview. I think I would definitely wow them.
During the interview with the recruiter, I found out that they have a monolith built with php and in the process of migrating to microservices in Kotlin. I was pretty shocked honestly. I felt pretty bad since I had to find out the truth after all these years' dreaming. I met with the manager to learn more about the projects. I guess I asked too much about these topics and the manager surely sensed it. I was rejected and not moving to the next technical arounds that I have spent so much time preparing. Honestly I was still willing to show them what I am capable of doing and I think my solutions will be very decent ones. But I was rejected. I was kind of feeling relieved. I did try my best to find out it was not a good match with this company.
Maybe it was just me being naive from the beginning. But just hope they are honest with the tech stack. There are people who are really passionate and love both php and kotlin. After waking up from my dream, I wholeheartedly accepted an offer from another company for a Java position.