Via Transportation Associate/Associate Principal/Principal interview questions

I was genuinely excited about the prospects to join Via as it seemed they were making strides in offering an appealing and meaningful product/service. Unfortunately, my initial enthusiasm gradually waned as I navigated a rather disorganized and lengthy process. For context, I had not looked up the reviews shared by previous candidates on Glassdoor's interview page and entered the process with a positive mindset. However, as I progressed through the interviews, I realized that I wasn't alone in facing challenges with the organization and duration of the process. Spanning 8 weeks, the interview process started off lacking clear communication from the recruiting team about the process's expectations, timeline, and even the role itself. A series of six, 45-minute remote interviews followed, during which a notable hiccup occurred during a scheduled back to back interview. Specifically, two of the interviewers were late – one by 15 minutes and another by a more significant 30 minutes which required rescheduling. During the rescheduled interview, the interviewer appeared to doze off a few times. I was invited to an on site interview and was told this is the last round but it wasn't without its own share of complications. After some discussions about my time constraints due to the process being 7 weeks long at this point, the recruiting team told me to hang tight while they sorted out the scheduling. Unexpectedly, a few days later, I was informed of the addition of yet another virtual interview round. The recruiting team clarified that this was an extra step introduced to the process – a surprise that, as it turns out, wasn't exclusive to me. A few days later, I was contacted by a different member of the recruiting team through a new email thread, seeking to schedule a call for an update. During the scheduled conversation, I received the news that my candidacy was no longer being pursued and no feedback was provided. Although appreciative of the effort to convey this personally, I thought that an email would have been better rather than a scheduled call. All in all, the process got increasingly disogranized, messy and repetitive. While I genuinely appreciated the meaningful conversations I had with some of the interviewers, the overall experience left me with concerns about the company's internal dynamics and management approach. My intent in sharing this feedback is to provide potential candidates with a candid perspective, so they can make informed decisions about their own journey with the company.

Extremely lengthy process which eventually led me to believe Via struggles with decision-making or potential micromanagement issues. I completed 11+ rounds, incl. a lengthy assignment in two languages and both online and in-person interviews with employees at every 'rank', up to C-level. Each person I met was bright, calm, interested and pleasant, and I genuinely enjoyed the conversations. Some of it felt a bit like free consulting, which I did happily, with a passion for the role and industry. However, after 11 rounds, I had to inform Via that I had an offer elsewhere with a time limit. This was after the recruiters told me multiple times that each next interview was the 'final final round'. This was also after the interviewers and hiring manager took time aside to express that I was an amazing candidate for the role and fit on a personal level. Even then, Via was not able to offer further clarity without the CEO's final approval. The role has been open for months and months. I'm not sure what the issue is. But the process did not give me confidence in some of Via's internal processes, nor in their trust in me, and I eventually chose another company. Despite a real interest in the role, team, and company. (Good to know: I am flexible about this, but the reimbursement for the very expensive flight for in-person interviews has already taken 1.5 month. Not everyone can afford waiting so long for several hundreds of euros.)