Recruiter screening. Lasted all of ten minutes because the recruiter was incompetent and not technical. Asked unclear, naive questions and misinterpreted the answers. Many of the skills and tools discussed were not present in the job description and while I gave competent answers they were misunderstood. The interviewer then went on to criticize my resume, which of course he had in hand before calling me. An aggravating, inept waste of my time and his. Second worst interviewer I have encountered in my 30 year career.

The process was smooth and professional. It started with a recruiter screen, followed by a technical interview with SQL and Python questions, plus a discussion on pipeline design. I also had a behavioral chat with the hiring manager about collaboration and problem-solving. The communication was clear throughout, and scheduling was flexible. Overall, I felt respected and supported, and the questions were relevant to real-world data engineering.