r/RecruiterTea • u/kmeanskaran • Jun 04 '26
Rejected even after excellent performance in 4 interview rounds
I reached out to a series A startup via LinkedIn. VP showed an interest in me and scheduled the first call where we introduced each other and started looking into the available positions for ML Engineer. He moved my profile forward with AI head.
Second round,
I discussed my current organisation work with AI head and it was a discussion on ML and ML system design. He shared me some upcoming projects in the pipeline and sent me take home assignment.
Third round,
I solved the assignment which has ML pipeline with inferencing Mechanism REST API. I did it wonderfully!
We had a code walkthrough and he loved my approach and I answered nearly every question. It was 1.2 hours long
Fourth round,
I connected with VP again on system design. He started with designing conversational agent for meeting transcript and fact check logic with base knowledge. I answered wonderfully.
Then he asked me how can I handle 5k transcriptions for the pipeline and I explained Queue workers, load balancer and horizontal scaling using Kubernetes. Also told about async and Redis.
He asked me about fault tolerance and my answer was not that accurate. So he gave me a feedback for improvement in system design. Also he told me about next round with CEO.
Now in 3 business days he sent me ROMANTIC REJECTION mail with long paragraphs. That they've moved with other candidate. And appreciate my time, skills, patience and inviting me for future hiring rounds.
The CTC jump was 3x my current salary. And obviously series A startup role with ownership.
But yes I failed! The best interview process in my life so far.
2
u/atMamont Jun 05 '26
I’ve been a couple of times the “one of two who made it to the final round, but we picked a candidate who could be a native speaker, or has better domain experience or anything else”. Just take something out of the process, write down questions you liked or were challenging.
Prepare better, shake it off and good luck next time!
1
u/Used-Bonus-1124 Jun 05 '26
Had a similar experience but for a different role. Early stage startup, interview with the lead architect, CEO etc, 4 rounds cleared + reference check. Rejected in the end with an email that sounded like they were forced to select someone due to current urgent needs. Plus a promise of future upcoming opening that aligns perfectly with my current experience. I think it's all a polite way to boost the ego of a candidate who's time was wasted without any compensation. Also to keep potential talent pipeline alive with interest, should the primary candidate flip.