I applied for a Software Engineer position at Picus Security and was invited to the first stage — an HR interview. The recruiter asked standard questions about my professional background, past projects, and my motivation for seeking new opportunities. They also talked about the company’s vision, culture, and the team I might potentially join. Everything seemed fine, and I was expecting to move on to the technical interview. However, I was later informed that the process had ended because they believed I was “not a fit.” What was frustrating is that all the information we discussed — my experience, my tech stack, my current role — was already clearly stated in my CV. The HR team could have easily decided this before scheduling the interview. It felt like they didn’t value my time at all. Overall, the experience left a very negative impression. The process came across as unstructured and dismissive, and the company gave off an unnecessarily arrogant attitude. I expected more professionalism from a company that claims to be innovative and people-oriented.

Firstly, I must admit that this must have been one of the greatest interview experiences of my career, every step was extremely well managed, this shows genuine commitment from the company and made me feel valued throughout the interview process. The technical interview is by all means not easy, the technical questions were spot on in terms of quality and it targets important and fundamental Computer Science concepts. The interviewers had amazing depth of knowledge and as a Junior Engineer made me think that I can grow exponentially with the help of these high quality Engineers. Normally a technical interview can be stressful for candidates but they have managed to make it fun. I also had a chill meetings with the HR, CTO and Engineering Manager. It highlighted the company's commitment to supportive and collaborative environment where each individual is valued and acknowledged by the people irrespective of their role or level.