I recently appeared for an interview process for an experienced role at PolicyBazaar.
My details:-
Education: BTech Tier 3
Current Company: Service Based
CTC: (Single digit in lakhs)
YOE: 2yrs+
Here’s a summary of what happened:
Round 1: Technical interview with an experienced developer.
I answered all questions in 45 minutes.
Round 2: Technical interview with a team lead.
I solved the problem and other questions in 25 minutes. The interviewer was very impressed with my knowledge.
Round 3: Interview with the CTO.
The interview got rescheduled twice due to panel's unavailability, and when the interview finally happened, it started abruptly with no introduction. He asked detailed questions without considering my experience and role which they were hiring for, I somehow managed to answer. When it came to discussing my salary, I requested a 50-60% hike, which is lower than what they typically offer to the SDE-1s. The CTO abruptly ended the call, offering only a 20% hike.
Before the process began, I clearly stated that my current salary was low and I was only asking for a modest increase. The recruiter agreed to this. After the interview, the recruiter told me I was rejected due to unrealistic salary demands. I pointed out that this was not mentioned earlier. In reply she said 'the CTO’s decision is final, I cannot change his words'.
Having no choices left I told her that I am open to negotiations.
Eventually, I agreed to a 24% hike. She hurrily took all my docs for offer processing.
She then accused me of forging documents and claimed my last year salary hike was untrue. I explained that I had received a 30% hike due to being a top performer and has also recieved several awards and recognition emails in the past year. Despite this, she was skeptical until I provided screenshots of my appraisal and manager feedback emails.
Then again she didn't spoke for few days but after multiple follow ups she accused me of editing my salary slips, so I shared my bank statement with her, next day she called me and dicussed the salary breakup with me. After that she didn't spoke again. I tried reaching out through mails and calls, later she blocked me.
This experience has shown me how candidates can be exploited. It’s disappointing to see such unprofessional behavior from a company with a big brand name.
Please think twice before applying for such companies, even if you get selected, you'll be exploited badly.