I have to say that this had to be the most surreal interview experience I have ever had to date. I’ve been in the Hi-Tech industry for almost seventeen years so that is saying a lot. I’m also a dual EU citizen so I found no excuse for their criterion being applicable to the actual job they had advertised despite potential cultural differences. The phone screening was pleasant enough and at least the first gentleman I spoke with could be fairly specific about the job. I was very candid about the fact that my background spanned from: hi-tech database, academia, multi-billion dollar retail, and on to one of the most successful startups that has ever involved consumer electronics. However, I was also clear I had no specific telecom industry experience other then supporting embedded devices, DSP, etc. developers, etc. He said that was not a problem and the subsequent interviews definitely reflected that. The first portion of the interview was with another candidate. We got the “Benefits and Sales Spiel” from a very pleasant man from GB who had been hired right out of his University in GB (warning #1). Then came the bizarre testing process that took up most of the day. The HR person coordinating four hours of non-stop ridiculous tests designed circa 1970’s was very sweet and provided some sweets, coffee, tea and soda. We were even afforded sparse bathroom breaks when needed. This process caught me a bit off guard because how much of any candidate’s day did they actually waste on this stuff when the real job requirements were never tested and barely discussed? My teenagers and elementary school children in the Gifted and Talented program could have scored higher on the majority of the tests although I never knew how I did which doesn’t matter. This is because my children could never do the job I could have done in my sleep that was allegedly advertised. After that ordeal, which in retrospect would have made slightly a bit more sense for a software engineering position if anything, I spoke with a charming British engineer who was also hired straight out of a university in GB (warning #2!). We joked about the last test that was essentially problem solving and much closer to scripting with system calls around what would apply to the position and do for a living other then a software programming position. We discussed potential programming alternatives to the solution but since all tests were timed and had to be hand-written, I could have presented a lot more prior to that conversation had I known. The last person I spoke with obviously conveyed via his body language and attitude that I was no longer a candidate. However, at least he could go over the specifics of the job and we talked shop for a bit. I was never even grilled on anything specific on the job requirements were advertised. I left feeling like I had gotten nervous over a wasted day I really didn’t deserve. I noticed they temporarily changed the original description of the job offering significantly less of a salary for a spell but then retracted it back to the original range and benefits. If you are right out of a British University who is prepared for their “testing process,” then Metaswitch seems like a good company with great benefits even if you don’t have the moxie to do the job as described. Furthermore, even if you were an American who likes and dabbles in bizarre tests non-applicable to the job at hand, I’d recommend applying as well. However, if the company wants to hire applicants who could actually do the job at hand, they really need a reality check in terms of their hiring process.