I wanted to share my feedback regarding the recent video interview with the Kroger hiring team for the QA position.
My initial interaction with the recruiter was very positive. I appreciated the thorough questions about my experience in QA and data testing, which set a promising tone.
However, the subsequent video interview with the QA team was extremely disappointing and unprofessional.
From the start, all three interviewers kept their videos off, creating a very impersonal atmosphere. The interview, which was supposed to focus on data quality and testing, instead concentrated on DevOps, DataOps, Data Factory, and Kafka setup and configuration questions, which was quite unexpected and irrelevant to the role.
To make matters worse, I was asked to write automation code directly in the Teams chat window. This method is inefficient, given the numerous web portals available for proper code evaluation. When I suggested using an IDE or a free technical assessment portal, they agreed, but as I was preparing to launch PyCharm, one of the interviewers accusatory asked if I was cheating. This insinuation was not only insulting but also unfounded, given my ten years of experience as a QA engineer.
The interview concluded in less than 30 minutes, leaving me with a very negative impression of Kroger's hiring process. I later checked Kroger's Glassdoor reviews and found a mediocre rating of three stars, which aligns with my experience.
Given this unprofessional and toxic interview experience, I would not recommend Kroger as a potential employer to anyone.