The recruitment team reached out to schedule my interview. Some of my points might be repeated with another review for Engineering Manager frontend but unfortunately it was the same experience Technical Interview (Round 1): - 2 Staff Engineers were taking the interview. - Based on their knowledge, they seemed to be at an SDE1 or, at best, SDE2 level compared to other companies. - They had kind of a sheet set of theoretical questions, asking them one by one. Just like a non technical person asking and looking for keywords, if found, next question Talent Acquisition team had provided a HackerRank link, but these interviewers seemed disinterested in using it to discuss any questions in the editor. Also it was disrespectful both didn’t turned their videos on even for introduction Techno Managerial Interview (Round 2): - 1 Engineering Manager UI took the round. - The guy literally didn’t talked more than 10 sentences in the interview. - Again he had a set sheet of interview questions, asking them on by one. Exactly same behaviour as previous rounds that looking for keywords, if found next question. The more funny thing was that all of these were behavioural questions. And he expected standard google/chatGPT level of answers and not real experiences. None of his questions had a follow up. Literally zero follow up questions. Even if anyone would have said I built chatGPT LLM in 1 day he wouldn’t have a follow up on how is it possible. Feedback: Thank god at-least their HR did a job to share a transparent feedback. - All his questions had explanations with example backed responses but he rejected on a single line that I just mentioned why I left my previous company. Whole rejection based on a single line. The line ‘In my last job I was hired as an IC, but after a while I was expected to do 100% of IC work with managerial work, without reducing any IC bandwidth”. To this the HR said you should have lied diplomatically for this 😀 - Another feedback was that `Tell me a time when you had a wrong hire ?` question had a not up to the mark question. I mentioned I didn’t had wrong hire but I understood the candidate had attitude which I worked upon after the hire, which was a real story. But the interviewer expect you to had a wrong hire. So in order to get hired at Zscaler you should have a wrong hire. Haha - Another feedback point was hilarious - He wrote that I was good at doing both tech and managerial part together, which itself is contradicted by his idea in the first feedback.

The recruitment team reached out to schedule my interview, providing ample preparation materials and a designated time slot. I had a technical interview with two individuals identified as "Staff Engineers." Based on their knowledge and communication skills, they seemed to be at an SDE1 or, at best, SDE2 level compared to other companies. The interview was conducted online, but neither interviewer turned on their camera or introduced themselves. They followed a rigid set of theoretical questions, asking them one by one without engaging in any follow-up discussions. I delved deeply into some topics, but it appeared they struggled to grasp my responses. In 2024, I was surprised to be asked about the benefits of using class components in React and when they should be used. While I explained class components, I also noted that their advantages are minimal now that hooks are available. This seemed to irritate them. It felt as though they had pulled questions from a "Frontend Interview Questions" repository without truly understanding the material. The experience was quite humiliating for me, as the overall quality of the interview was disappointing. Additionally, they inquired about the Browser Object Model (BOM). When I couldn't provide an answer, I asked them to explain the question or at least share the full form. Their response was dismissive, saying, "let's not get into it." I ended up explaining the Document Object Model (DOM) and the CSS Object Model (CSSOM), highlighting that "BOM" lacks a formal specification and is a somewhat vague term. Their apparent lack of knowledge was evident. Having worked at FANG-level companies and participated in numerous interviews—both as an interviewee and interviewer—I found this experience to be particularly disheartening. The overall atmosphere felt unprofessional, and I would strongly advise others to steer clear of this company, as it seems unlikely that one would gain anything positive from the interview process. One final note: the Talent Acquisition team had provided a HackerRank link, but these interviewers seemed disinterested in using it to discuss any questions in the editor.