I recently interviewed for a position in Israel and had a mixed experience. The technical interview was conducted over Zoom and lasted an hour and a half. Without any prior notice, the interviewers (both Hebrew speakers) decided mid-conversation to conduct the interview in English, citing their frequent collaboration with engineers abroad. While I agreed—thinking it could be good practice—I felt it was inconsiderate to make this decision on the spot without consulting me beforehand.
Although I’ve spent much of my career communicating in English, my native language is Hebrew. Discussing technical topics is straightforward for me in English, but interviews require a different skill set. Explaining my experience in a second language inevitably led to some nuances being lost. This added an unnecessary layer of challenge to an already stressful process.
The interviewers were generally polite, but I wasn’t particularly impressed with their approach. A bit more preparation and communication would have gone a long way toward creating a fair and professional interview experience.
Also, sending a rejection email after a phone screening and another hour-and-a-half technical interview is a no-no.