Zipline Software Engineer interview with an industry-expert recruiter

A recruiter reached out to me on LinkedIn and quickly talked up her background. She described herself as an industry expert and implied that she could "sniff out" whether I really knew what I was talking about. That framing threw me off before I had a chance to explain my experience. I didn’t want to feel put on the defensive, especially since I had already done significant work and expected a more professional, focused conversation.

The interview didn’t feel like it started from a good place, and that first impression colored everything that followed. As the process continued, it became clear that the tone didn’t match how I wanted to be evaluated. I didn’t receive an offer, and I felt the recruiter’s approach created unnecessary friction instead of testing my skills fairly.

Location: United States. Overall feedback: Negative. Offer status: No offer.