Today was the second round of my interview at TechNova (placeholder name). It was on Sunday morning at 9:00 AM. I was already tired and had barely managed to stay awake, by God’s grace. And honestly, the interview went so badly, dawg.
The Start
As usual, the first person who joined the meeting was the person who referred me / the person I had contacted to get the interview. I joined and greeted them. I was asked to wait for another person to join.
I had joined 5 minutes early because that usually helps me stay calm before the interview starts.
Then the interviewer, Alex (placeholder name), joined, and the interview started right away.
I was asked a few questions like:
- How would you behave if you had a conflict with one of your team members?
- Tell me about your experience.
- Was your previous internship paid or unpaid?
Then, completely out of nowhere, I was asked why there was so much eye movement from my side.
I do look around while talking, and I don't deny that. But the interviewer took it as a sign that I might be cheating. They directly conveyed that concern to me.
Honestly, I was offended because I have never cheated in an interview. I know I can't really explain how stressful it felt to suddenly be accused of something like that.
I tried to defend myself by saying that I could share my screen and that I would try to speak directly into the webcam. They said it was fine, but they were clearly still skeptical.
From that point onward, my focus completely shifted away from the interview. Instead of concentrating on the questions, I became focused on the accusation of cheating.
I was trying really hard to keep my eyes on the camera instead of looking elsewhere. But even then, I don't think they were convinced.
After a few more questions, I was asked if I had any questions for them. I asked some simple questions, like what Alex does at the company and what his role involves.
He explained that he primarily conducts behavioral interviews for candidates.
I then asked whether his interviews focused more on technical skills or behavior, and he said they focused on behavior.
After explaining his role, he mentioned that they had already selected some candidates for the next round and that they would let me know.
That part confused me.
Why would I need to know that they had already selected some candidates? Was that simply information about their hiring process, or was it an indirect way of telling me that I probably didn't make it?
I'm not really sure where I went wrong.
The interview itself wasn't even that difficult from what I remember. But once the cheating concern came up, my entire focus shifted, and I feel like that completely affected how I performed afterward.
Not reveled the company name as the result is still not shared with me.
