In hindsight it’s easy to blame that person for not automatically expecting a grueling day of interviews or at least asking for details about what to expect.
But it’s easy for me to believe that the recruiter deliberately mislead the candidate about the on-site. I have experienced on-sites that were indeed more about meeting the team, having more casual technical discussions and being judged for “culture fit” (which has its own problems, but that’s another discussion).
It’s not unreasonable to take the recruiter at their word and be upset about the unexpected challenge, especially after a rough travel itinerary.
Well then Shopify should have better communicated and be better prepared, plus give the candidate enough time to recover from the flight. Bad form from Shopify if true...
They probably should do this, but if they have enough applicants for the job, this sort of "difficulty" itself is probably a useful filter to weed out those who can't put up with the pain.
That it is unpleasant for the potential hire doesn't really say much about the interests of Shopify. For senior engineers this probably is a bad strategy, but maybe not for entry-level or intermediate engineer who they will push around for a few years. Forcing you to jump through hoops may actually get them exactly the kind of employee they want.
The role I’m currently hiring for, the face to face literally is just a meet and greet. All the technical stuff will be done remotely.
Also I wouldnt be surprised if the recruiter lied. I’ve had so many negative experiences with recruiters over the years that I’ve learned to trust very few and those who I do trust I now work exclusively with.
But it’s easy for me to believe that the recruiter deliberately mislead the candidate about the on-site. I have experienced on-sites that were indeed more about meeting the team, having more casual technical discussions and being judged for “culture fit” (which has its own problems, but that’s another discussion).
It’s not unreasonable to take the recruiter at their word and be upset about the unexpected challenge, especially after a rough travel itinerary.