So here's a little anecdote about an interview I had with a bay area to company: Aspera. I had finished my first year of Master's program at one of the two most prominent schools in the Bay area and I was looking for an internship for the summer. While I was interviewing with the FANGs, I was also interested in startups and that's when I came across Aspera. A recruiter had reached out to me and talked to me. She was super impressed with me, and said she would send me a technical screen problem. I waited a week, no response. I followed up with them and the recruiter said she had forgotten about it and was sorry and then sent me a technical screen. But then demanded I finish it in a day or two. It was around mid terms, but still I nailed the coding challenge and sent out two separate solutions optimized for time and resources. They said they'll follow up. Again a week goes by, no response. I follow up again. The recruiter replies back saying they were extremely impressed, and they wanted me to talk to a technical lead over phone. The next day! I was annoyed but I did it anyway. Nailed it. The interviewer just told me during the call that he is recommending me for onsite. Again a week goes by and I don't hear from them. By now I know the drill! I call the recruiter up, they said they want me for an onsite, within the next 3 days. I somehow agree and show up for the interview while skipping classes. Now comes the most fun part. I have 6 hour long interviews from the morning till evening. The first two interviews were kind of alright. But then the 3rd interview starts and I am talking to a very condescending engineer. He doesn't listen to a word I say and is asking questions completely unrelated to the role. I admitted that it was not my area of specialty, but I would be more than happy to learn and answer him a week later. But he was more interested in belittling me than anything else. Remarks like "that's what I expected" and "should have guessed that" when I said it wasn't my expertise. I survived the hour, and was expecting a lunch break, but then the next interviewer shows up and continues. This one was basically uninterested. Was constantly on the phone chatting with friends. Gave me some template algorithm questions. Which I whiteboarded and coded. Finally looks up to the board, completely missunderstands the solution and spends the next hour convincing me how I was wrong. I finally manage to explain the solution and they only say "ohh ok". And then proceed to say that the times up and leave. I go through 2 more weird interviews. The last one is a guy who has spent all his life in c and since mine was python/Java/Ruby/c# expertise, he had no clue what to ask me. So we spent time talking about other stuff. That's when the poor guy realizes no one has offered anything to eat or drink the entire day. Buys me some lunch (@4 pm) and then brings me to the HR. He was probably the nicest guy I met all day. Finally I meet the HR. I don't complain much since I'm looking for a job and just try to be positive. The HR herself was a little weird when I talked to her. Made a few remarks about my race/ethnicity. Nothing insulting, but more like ignorant stereotypes. She herself was a person of color so I wasn't sure what to make it. But when it came down to what I was expecting as compensation, I told her my expectations and what the median was in our school and that I was flexible because I know different companies pay differently and was open to negotiation. She sounded offended by that. She was offering me 20$ an hour and said that I should be thankful for the opportunity they are providing to me and that at least it was better than flipping Burgers. Now that was probably aimed at me because of my race. I was so angry, but I calmed myself down and replied, that considering that rate, they should hire from McDonald's and stop reaching out to graduates from the top bay area schools. She got annoyed and was super rude to me after that. Saying that's how much people get paid in the industry and I was like looks like I am in the wrong profession then because the bar next to my house pays $18 and tips and they at least like me. I'd rather work there. That was the end of the conversation. Again, they said they'd call me, but I knew the drill. No emails for 2 weeks, but this time I didn't follow up.
Thanks for naming and shaming the company OP. If possible, leave a Glassdoor review too so that people stay the fuck away from this company. The name of the company starts with an ass. Kinda poetic that they behaved like assholes.
thanks for sharing. sorry they wasted your time like that. what a bunch of asshats. and no that is not the going rate for interns, not even from community college.
Dodged a bullet there. You donât want to work for a place which doesnât value you.
I know Aspera is owned by IBM and they're known to pull of these acts with students. Had it been me in that place I'd have fucking posted this over LinkedIn glassdoor and every possible platform the company is on and see what they had to say for themselves.
Cheap ass company. Donât even bother considering them, they should at least have common sense on how to treat another human being.
That company's name literally means "rough" or "harsh". What were they thinking naming it that?
âbut I would be more than happy to learn and answer him a week later.â LOL đ
This story worths tl must read. Do it. Fucking company. Okay here goes the summary: 1. OP is doing his/her master. 2. A recruiter from Aspera had reached out. 3. Recruiter failed to send OP take-home coding challenge. 4. OP reached out after a week and got the challenge. 5. Submitted the challenge and was ghosted by recruiter for a week again. 6. Recruiter responded and setup a phone screen with tech lead. 7. Tech lead liked OP and asked recruiter to bring OP onsite. 8. OP knew the drill! Called up recruiter after a week of no response again! 9. Total of 6 freakin 6 hours back to back interviews. First two were okay, followed by a condescending dude, a totally uninterested asshole who was playing on the phone, a guy who has no clue about anything but C, and finally a nice guy who bought lunch for OP. 8. HR was a color person and implied OP should be grateful for a $20 hourly pay as OP being minority - better than flipping burger. 9. No followups afterward.
Keepin' it real
Thanks for the summary kind stranger of the internets