I applied for the role of Onboarding Associate on the Content/Partnerships team. I was referred by a friend who is a current employee. My entire interview process -- recruiter screen, hiring manager call, and a virtual onsite -- took 15 days. Although it was an efficient/quick process, it was the worst interview experience of my career. A few unsettling things stood out from my interviews: - My recruiter illegally asked for my salary history. This has been illegal to ask candidates in the state where I am located and where the position was based out of as well as in the state the recruiter is based out of for over a year now. When I questioned if they could ask me that, they dismissively said yes and that they wanted to be able to advocate for me - The HM mentioned that since Amazon acquired Twitch in 2014, they have intentionally been looking for candidates from “diverse backgrounds” to bring in “fresh perspectives.” - The HM also mentioned they were interviewing a lot more candidates for this role for “due diligence” - Despite their focus on hiring candidates from “diverse backgrounds” for 6 years now, all the interviewers I met with (6 different people) did not seem to be diverse -- racially or in their professional backgrounds -- but reiterated Twitch’s commitment to finding diverse candidates throughout all my interviews My interviews ended late Wednesday afternoon. The next morning the recruiter emailed to set up a video call for later that day. All my prior communications with the recruiter had been via phone or email, and I had received positive feedback about my responses and prior experience from all of the interviewers I met, so I was optimistic that a video call was a good sign. The recruiter started the video call by asking me how I felt the interviews went and how I currently felt about the role. I responded with enthusiasm that I loved meeting the team, and was now even more excited about this role and the prospect of working for Twitch. The recruiter responded that everyone really enjoyed meeting me and thought I would be an excellent fit at Twitch. I got excited, and my face probably showed that. They continued on that unfortunately they decided to go with another candidate who had more relevant experience. My face fell as I experienced shock, disappointment, and confusion in real time. They then commented “Aw, you look so disappointed!” I was already humiliated to be subjected to rejection on a live video call. Their remark was condescending and callous, making me even more visibly emotional. I said I was disappointed, given that the initial feedback I received during the onsite had been positive, and I asked for additional feedback. They repeatedly said “don’t shoot the messenger,” “this wasn’t my decision,” “I didn’t influence this decision,” and “I hate to be the bearer of bad news” but declined to share substantive feedback beyond “[my] experience was not relevant enough.” They ended the call with “do not give up hope, keep applying!”. I didn’t expect any further contact after this humiliating video call, but the next day I received an automated rejection email from a no-reply email address. That was by far the worst experience I’ve ever had with a recruiter. Then I learned via LI who they hired for the role and realized even more unsettling details. - The person hired for the role posted on LI that their last day with their previous employer was the Friday (just 2 days after I interviewed with Twitch) and then they started at Twitch the very next week - If this individual gave their previous employer the standard two weeks notice, they had likely already accepted Twitch’s offer for the role I was (supposedly) interviewing for by the time I did the initial call with the HM, which makes their comment about them doing a lot more interviews for “due diligence” all the more concerning (the individual they hired is of the same professional background and appears to be of the same racial background as all the team members I met) - Unless the individual did not accept their offer until 2 business days before starting at Twitch, then my virtual onsite interviews were a complete waste of time as they already knew they had already filled the position and were simply boosting the number of diverse candidates they had “considered” for the role I hope my recruiter learns how to conduct recruiter screens legally as well as how to treat candidates with dignity and respect, and I hope Twitch reviews their interview practices to ensure candidates have a fair and inclusive experience, instead of wasting candidates’ time to hit their quota for interviewing candidates from underrepresented groups.

The interview process started with a phone screening, then a 1:1 video interview, then the onsite interview loop at headquarters in San Francisco. I interviewed with 5 separate people with a lunch break. After returning home, I had another couple phone interviews after some changes happened to the team. Every step of the way, I had a contact that I could call for any concerns or questions. The process was smooth, because they were making sure that I was comfortable the whole way through! Throughout the onsite interview, there were several employees asking if I needed anything, and helped me calm my nerves.