Role: Senior AI Engineer
Process: Onsite drive via third-party HR

Invited directly for onsite with just 1 day notice, no prior screening.
Informed that only a few candidates were being called for 2–3 open roles. Luring into "be-present" trap.

🏢 Onsite Experience
Reporting time: 10:30 AM
Given a case study (~3 hours effort) to complete before the interview
Interview started at ~3:15 PM (~5-hour wait; lunch was provided +point)

🎯 Interview
Duration: ~25 minutes
Mostly informal discussion in Hindi (personally fine, but too casual for a serious interview)
Case study was reviewed mostly surface-level “what-if” questions.
No deep dive into system design, ML concepts, or past experience.
Overall felt unstructured and directionless 25 mins very short time.

👉 At times, it felt more like they were seeking ideas/inputs for their AI project rather than evaluating the candidate

📢 Outcome
Initially told: “Next round on Monday”
After follow-ups (third-party HR → company HR), received a generic rejection and informed they move ahead with only 1/8 cadidate for future round.

❌ Key Issues
No initial screening → unnecessary onsite call
~5-hour wait for a short interview (plus travel time)
High effort (case study), minimal evaluation depth
Overall process felt poorly planned and executed
Onsite should be called when Hiring is 60% sure of candidate.

⭐ Verdict
2/5 — Inefficient process, not respectful of candidate time.