Reserved a number of slots with their VP, Director, Manager, and lead TPM to interview me. Each was 30 minutes long. I did speak to the manager for about an hour. Made it through all of the interviews and felt good about it. Each had positive feedback for me. However, the last interview with the VP was rescheduled 3x and then the recruiter finally called and said they were cancelling altogether. Said it wasn’t a good fit.
I mentioned that it was disappointing since they had the last interview scheduled and nothing had changed. I also mentioned that I had great conversations with the other interviewers. He said, “That’s the problem. These were interviews, not conversations.”
Wow, this company must have a horrible culture. I ask questions during my interviews. I see us both as having equal footing and I treat interviews as a two way street. They obviously don’t see it that way.
Good luck. Hope your stock doesn’t drop 50% in a single day for a SECOND time. :D
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Okta (Toronto, ON)
Interview
I went through 5 rounds of interviews for a Sr. TPM role in the Product Security organization. While the coordination was timely, the process itself felt poorly structured and misaligned with the stated expectations of the role.
The final feedback was that I lacked product security knowledge — yet not a single interviewer asked meaningful or direct questions related to product security concepts. Several interviewers seemed unsure about what to assess, which created a vague and inconsistent experience throughout.
If domain expertise is critical to the role, it should be evaluated explicitly and consistently across interviews — not used retroactively as a rejection reason. I was expected to read between the lines, anticipate unspoken expectations, and tailor my answers to invisible criteria.
This was disappointing, especially given the seniority of the position and the investment of time from both sides. Okta should take a hard look at how aligned their hiring panels are and whether they’re evaluating candidates based on actual conversations — not assumptions.
Future candidates: If you're applying for a TPM role in security here, be prepared to drive the security discussion yourself. Don’t assume the panel will ask — or even know how to.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me something about yourself while I look at your resume.