Interview started with a phone screen with the tech team. They seemed nice, but one developer actually laughed when I asked if there would be a coding assessment. They also didn't know exactly what they were hiring for.
They offered an in-person interview, which I accepted after confirming their salary range. I even told them what my bare minimum would be so that we wouldn't waste each other's time if it wouldn't be financially feasible for me to work there. They said the range worked, so I went in.
For the in-person interview, they asked me to bring some samples of my work, which I did. Had a 1:1 with one of the senior employees, but no one actually asked to see any of my code. For some reason, their interview process also includes a 3-page questionnaire (handwritten, not a Google Form). While it didn't impact me or any of my answers, some of their questions didn't seem ADA-friendly.
They sent me an offer the next morning, but it was for $5,000 less than what I told them my bare minimum was. Obviously I countered, and explained that I'd cancel the other interviews I had lined up if they could make a reasonable offer. Then I got radio silence for three business days (plus a weekend), even though I tried emailing and calling to at least confirm receipt of the counter.
When I finally got a response, they rescinded the offer because they thought "it wouldn't be a good fit". Appalled, I pressed for an explanation. Without writing an entire novel here, the main reason was because they didn't communicate amongst themselves about the offer beforehand or what to do in the event of a counter, or how to plan for short absences of their senior employees. In addition, their excuse shared a personal matter to explain the absence of one of those senior employees. Not only was it a manipulative way to respond, it was unnecessary and unprofessional.
One thing that bothers me most is that the offer they sent me was already signed by the CEO. That means if I had decided to accept the lowball offer over the weekend and cancel the rest of my interviews, I might have been stuck with no offer and no interviews because they don't know how to communicate effectively with their candidates (or with each other, it seems).
I felt highly disrespected by this company, and they handled the entire process in a completely unprofessional manner. It's clear that they think they can lowball developers and try to get them for less. As soon as you show a backbone and ask for what you're worth, they crumple.
Don't even bother with an interview with this company, especially if you're a more experienced developer. The offered salary is far below market rate, and you'll probably spend a lot of your time working on Wordpress sites.
