new grad, recently finished the three-round VO interview at ByteDance but just received an email of rejection. Sharing my interview experience and venting a bit.
I applied in late November, used a referral code from a post on Blind, and applied for two positions. Eventually got matched with MLE.
The OA was tough, managed to complete 3 questions but couldn’t debug some test cases due to time constraints. Saw some talented candidates on Blind who aced 4 questions but still got rejected. Didn’t have high hopes but receiving the VO was a pleasant surprise.
Excluding the last-minute time change, the first two rounds of interviews went well. Interviewers were professional and nice. Despite hearing complaints about ByteDance interviews being impolite, I thought the overseas recruitment process was improving, but I was too naive.
For the third round, the interviewer emailed a day in advance to reschedule. He was 4 minutes late, and just as I was about to email HR that he hadn’t shown up, he appeared. He was Chinese, didn’t turn on his camera, conducted the interview in Chinese, and started off in a somewhat unfriendly manner. Criticized a project on my resume that wasn’t related to ML, which I tried to explain but was heavily criticized. Then asked about algorithm complexity analysis without coding, making communication difficult. After answering some simple questions, he would ask me to explain again or act as if he hadn’t listened. Asked about ML projects and basic knowledge, similar to interviews in China, with deep follow-up questions. Was impatient, interrupting me and suggesting to talk about other things when he didn’t understand. After several failed answers, muttered that my basic knowledge didn’t align with the position. No coding involved, and when I asked if I should code, he said no. The interview ended after a little over 40 minutes.
Although I tried to be polite during the interview, I reflected on whether I made any mistakes that led to the interviewer seeming dissatisfied. One aspect could be that I occasionally spoke English when discussing concepts since I study and discuss in English regularly. Another aspect is that I chuckled self-deprecatingly when unable to answer multiple questions, unsure if it gave a negative impression. Hoping for some analysis from the readers.
Honestly, I felt a bit unhappy right after the interview, but writing about my experience has lifted my spirits. Recognize my shortcomings and will continue practicing and applying to more positions. Grateful for TikTok for helping me efficiently prepare and realize my weaknesses during this month of interview preparation.
Wishing everyone good health, successful studies, job searches, and work in 2021.