I received an email from the company headhunter. She interviewed me first, and it was very informal which is normal in my experience for an initial interview with an HR person. She was polite and the overall tone of the interview was friendly. Lots of questions about telecommuting technologies (what works, what doesn't work) because this was their first foray into hiring remote software developers (I've been a 100% remote developer for more than 5 years). The toughest question was related to compensation. I was clear about the pay I was looking for in my next position, and it was below the median of the range being offered so it didn't seem like an issue. She did not return emails in a timely manner (days to weeks to respond at times), which I personally see as very unprofessional.
I then interviewed with the head of mobile development. Surprisingly, this interview was very light on technical questions beyond asking me about types of technologies I had worked with. Again, lots of questions about what technologies work with developing in a remote environment. He didn't ask any questions about coding, nor did he have any questions about implementation on any level. It was more like a friendly chat. This was a serious red flag.
After more than a week, they contacted me again for a third interview with their company's lead architect. This interview was a total joke. He called me more than 10 minutes late, using the tired "meetings ran late" excuse. Whenever I was talking I could hear him working on his computer, and I could tell he had to mentally detach himself from his work whenever I had finished answering his questions. Again, all softball technical questions. At least he only had a few "telecommuting recommendations" questions for me. Overall, everything about his manner told me he made his mind up before he had even called me. And the best part? Once the third interview was over I got the silent treatment- total communications blackout despite following up twice.
I understand the interview process is just that- a process. However, it does not help your company image when you are uncertain about what you really want and in turn you use a prospect to help you figure it out. This wasn't an interview; it was an attempt to get free consultation on how to set up their remote development team. I needed to take time off of work on three occasions to satisfy their curiosity. Thanks for wasting my time.