My first interview was with Carmen from HR, and she was fantastic. You can tell she’s great at what she does, very professional, easy to talk to, and well-prepared. She made the whole process feel smooth and comfortable. It did take a few follow-ups to hear back about the next steps, but I understand that’s not on her; companies often have to juggle other priorities, and that’s completely normal.
The second interview was with the SVP of Product, and honestly, it was a very different experience. The call was informal, and she was taking it from her car. I offered to reschedule, but she said no. Because of the background noise and connection, it was pretty hard to understand her at times. I have an accent myself, so I always make sure I’m in a quiet space with a good mic to make communication easier. Unfortunately, that effort wasn’t mirrored here. On top of that, when I tried explaining how I’ve used certain tools in my past roles, she would cut in with a “no” mid-sentence if it wasn’t exactly the same way they do things at Synctera. Every company has its own setup and tools, and I was (like most people) open to learning their way. It just made the conversation feel more like a quiz than a discussion.
Overall, I think Synctera has great people like Carmen representing them well, but I hope future interviews reflect the same level of respect and attention across all stages.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How do you handle edge cases in KYC, like when a customer fails verification?
This was the most unprofessional and unethical interview process I have ever gone through, and I urge others to not waste an inordinate amount of time with any one company, and certainly don't put all your eggs in one basket with a company like Synctera. They put me through three interviews over a period of SIX WEEKS - with weeks in between responses. Even when I was still in the running as a "top candidate", they were never reachable. I had my first interview May 29, second interview on June 4, and the third interview almost 3 weeks later. At the end of interview 3 I was told it was basically a formality at this point - I was the top candidate for this role they had had a lot of trouble filling, and I just needed to have a meet and greet with the CEO. From there, the company ghosted me for two weeks. In that time I was ignored by multiple people. Finally, 41 days after my first phone screen, I got the ice cold automated rejection. This four interview, multi-month process was for a 6 month contract role with no benefits, paying 20% below market value. Here's the worst part and where I have significant questions. Two of the three interviews included references to politics. I now believe this was some sort of purity test based on my appearance and the state I live in. Maybe that's why I didn't get hired. I'll end this with one more plea to job seekers - whenever you see startup companies bragging in their core values about how much they care about people, run the other way. A big corporation will reject you swiftly. You are far more likely to get put through the ringer for months with a disorganized and self-congratulatory startup like Synctera.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What is an example of a complicated fraud case you handled?
Long, many interviews. Felt like the interviews were not accomplishing the goals set out. Start up vibe. After the second interview was told there are 2 more and a test before decision