Initial contact was very quick, they scheduled me for a phone screen and I accepted. The phone call started fine, but after I mentioned my skills and the various projects I have worked on, the interviewer challenged my capabilities by belittling my achievements. "Look, I really want to show you to our technical team, but you haven't shown me that you know anything about programming. You have not shown me that you have technical skills." Bear in mind, I had brought up my experiences will C++, Java, Python, object oriented structures/methodologies, packet analysis, front-end and backend processes, RESTful APIs, various operating systems, etc... The caller pressed that although she was a recruiter, she had "a degree in computer science" and that "based on your (my) capabilities I do not see how you can claim to have the experiences you have had." I was appalled, but she said she would set me up with a programming exercise so the team could evaluate me further. I declined to continue.
Note to HR -- don't belittle your candidates and their capabilities. It does not set a good precedent. If you aren't getting the questions you want answered in the way you want them to, then rephrase them instead of accusing talented people that they "know nothing."
