I had a highly disappointing experience interviewing for the Senior Graphic Designer role. The hiring process extended for over three weeks and involved four to five separate assignments, including multiple redesigns and iterations. Even after my initial assignment was shortlisted and I cleared the first two rounds, the final in-person interview was with the Head of Marketing turned into another live work assignment and it leads to multiple corrections. As a candidate, it was confusing to understand how someone is expected to keep doing live work and multiple corrections without knowing whether they are hired or not. Usually, this level of detailed work and brand understanding happens after joining a company, not during interviews. A candidate cannot realistically deliver employee-level output without onboarding, internal context, or formal association with the company. While the HR representative (Tejas) was friendly and respectful, the overall process lacked professional boundaries and respect for a candidate’s time and effort. Assignments should assess skills—not replace actual work. I strongly feel the hiring process needs better structure and professionalism.

Okay.. Had my interview with SmartQ and honestly, it was smoother than most coffee orders I’ve placed The team was super supportive specifically Manthan. Clear communication nd zero confusion Kudos to the team!

1. Initial phone call with HR 2. Assignment round Assignment is a problem statement from their own app. They needed multiple flows, UXR, hi-fidelity design for their app - all of which are quite unrealistic expectations during an interview process. And as most companies do, I was sent an automated rejection mail without any feedback and respect for the time and effort that had gone into doing the assignment