I recently applied for a Data Scientist position at Xcel Energy [Denver], and unfortunately, my experience was not as positive as I had hoped. I believe it's important to share my experience to help others who might be considering applying.
After a week, I received an email from the HR department inviting me to an initial interview. The interview process was drawn out over three months, with inconsistent and frustrating communication. Surprisingly, during the technical interviews with hiring managers and related employees, none of the interviewers were familiar with basic topics of data analysis. This was particularly concerning since they held titles such as Quantitative Analysts and Data Analysts at the company. The questions they asked were often irrelevant or demonstrated a lack of understanding of fundamental data science concepts.
After the final interview, I waited three months before receiving a rejection notice. Throughout this period, the job posting was opened and closed multiple times without any clear explanation. To my surprise, shortly after my rejection, the same job was reposted but with a different description. It seemed like the company had gone through numerous interviews to gather basic knowledge about data science and then re-entered the market with an updated job description.
Overall, my experience with Xcel Energy's hiring process was disappointing and unprofessional. The lack of basic knowledge among the interviewers and the poor communication throughout the process suggest significant shortcomings in the company's approach to hiring for data science positions.