I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Octopus Energy (Tokyo) in Jul 2023
Interview
I really wanted to work for Octopus Energy as sustainability and renewable energy was a passion of mine, however the recruiter made the candidate experience so terrible that I quit midway.
TL;DR interviews and interviewers were great, but the recruiter was unprofessional, unreliable, and downright unpleasant.
This is for a Kraken position based in APAC and the recruiter is in the UK.
1. She had trouble keeping appointments. She was late to one of our meetings, and did not show up entirely to another one, citing "internet connection issues" both times and had the gall to say "well you said the time didn't work well for you anyways".
2. She uses template emails (which is no problem) but doesn't seem to do what her own email says. One of her emails said (paraphrasing) "here's the assignment, let me know when you expect to finish and we can tentatively book the next rounds already. If you have any questions please get in touch!". Sent her my availabilities, and she simply did not respond for 2 weeks. I had to chase her with multiple unresponded emails to schedule the next round
3. She seemed to have no consideration for the time zone differences. She would refer to interview times as "UK time xx:yy". She tried multiple times to schedule a meeting for my next business day, during APAC late evening hours (which is UK business hours) as if I'm expected to accommodate their schedule within 24 hour period.
In summary I did not feel that she valued the candidates' time nor had the professionalism to keep her word, be truthful, and own up to her mistakes.
The interviews with the tech team themselves were pleasant enough. They were punctual, easy-going, empathetic, and seemed like genuinely nice people. Ultimately I had other options, and decided not to continue due to the frustration of dealing with the recruiter.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What is your experience in managing conflict within the team?