I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Darktrace (New York, NY) in Nov 2018
Interview
Recruiter reaches out and sets up interview via FaceTime or Skype. Darktrace is the world’s leading machine learning company for cyber security. Created by mathematicians from the University of Cambridge, Darktrace’s Enterprise Immune System uses AI algorithms that mimic the human immune system to defend enterprise networks of all types and sizes.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
General questions about resume, background, tell me about yourself, why do you want to work in cybersecurity, tell me about a time you experienced a challenge and had to pick up a new skill quickly.
a phone interview was arranged via email, on the day interview called and it was an interview through the phone, questions were mainly about cyber security and networking questions including ports and protocols.
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 5 days. I interviewed at Darktrace (Cambridge, England) in Mar 2020
Interview
Remote interview was very quick, was asked some technical questions, the interviewers where really nice and asked some interesting questions based on topics that I was taking about. I had some trouble hearing one of the interviewers but that was probably an issue on my end as this was my first video call interview.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How would you keep an online service running whilst updating it
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Darktrace in Apr 2019
Interview
1. I was contacted online by an External Recruiter about the position.
2. Went in for an in-person interview and then a second phone interview.
3. In-person interviewer was pleasant. Asked about previous work experience, networking experience, and behavioural situations.
4. Recruiter told me that I need to submit transcript and proof of citizenship as my earliest convenience
5. Submitted transcript to recruiter but wasn’t comfortable sending a copy of passport to a third-party recruiter in the States. Told recruiter I could submit info directly to Darktrace HR - no problem
6. Recruiter became more pushy and aggressive (multiple calls and emails) to get me to submit my private information to them. Told me they would only offer once they get the info.
7. I decided to look for proof that I can show which contained less private information
8. After one day, the recruiter decided to rescind my application and ended up wasting my time and interviewer’s time.
9. Recruiter sent a follow up email saying that my behaviour was unprofessional and said they had a network of partners. They would spread information to all of them that I was a bad candidate.
My Thoughts:
- Darktrace needs to reconsider their hiring strategy when using a recruitment agency. Perhaps better vetting of which agency they choose
- Can’t say this was a good experience especially since I was reached out by recruiter in the beginning and at the end having the recruiter said they would try to taint my reputation - especially being a new grad.