The hiring process at Kong takes an average of 7 days when considering 2 user submitted interviews across all job titles. Candidates applying for Senior Software Engineer had the quickest hiring process (on average 7 days), whereas Senior Software Engineer roles had the slowest hiring process (on average 7 days).
Spoke to a recruiter over the phone, then met with the manager. Got to the next stage and organised tome off work, made a deck explaining what Kong does to present for one of the final interviews. They emailed me less than 24 hours before hand saying they found someone else after spending some time prepping a PowerPoint. They said good luck on my job search in a generic email, didn’t even stick to the time they allocated.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How I handle rejection, how to I overcome rejection
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Kong (Toronto, ON) in Apr 2026
Interview
The interview process was 6 rounds and required a significant amount of time and effort. After investing that much into the process and making it all the way to the final round, you would expect a certain level of professionalism and respect from the company.
Unfortunately, that was not my experience with Kong.
After the final round, communication completely stopped. About 1 and 2 weeks later, I was contacted again and told someone would schedule a call to walk me through the result, but that call never happened, and there was no further followup.
I understand teams are busy, and candidates are too. But repeatedly setting expectations and failing to follow through reflects poorly on the company and the candidate experience.
There are many strong companies out there that value candidates’ time and communicate professionally throughout the process. Based on my experience, I would think carefully before investing this much time with Kong again, whether as a candidate or when evaluating technical solutions in the future.
I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Kong (New York, NY) in Apr 2026
Interview
The interview began late and ended early, leaving little time for a productive conversation. Key questions on compensation, equity, and expectations were not clearly answered by inexperienced hiring manager. Overall experience felt rushed and lacked structure and professionalism.
Kong response
1mo
Thank you for this candid feedback. We aim for a transparent, respectful candidate experience. We will use this information to immediately review and refine our interview procedures.