Phone interview with the Recruiter, followed by a phone interview with a junior team member (not the hiring Manager). The Recruiter interview went really well, as I was enthusiastic about the opportunity and this position was a great fit for my skills and experience. Their organizational challenges were basically right in my wheelhouse, and despite their out-of-the way location in Fremont and what seemed to be a very risky, equity-heavy compensation package, I thought Tesla represented the right type of environment for me.
Unfortunately, the second phone interview with the junior team member was poorly conducted. Rather than the engaging, conversational style of the Recruiter, this person read some basic questions and it was clear they had little or no interview experience. Worse, the questions weren't really relevant to my skills and abilities, but rather focused on how my previous employers conducted their programs. It seemed like this had been arranged to glean information about my prior employers, rather than to actually consider my application for employment.
At some point, the interviewer mentioned that the hiring Manager had been looking for someone with experience in a different system than those I've used. The job description hadn't mentioned this system, but later on it was updated for the position to be reposted. I disagree with the concept that specific-system experience is required to perform my role, but understand that's how some people think. I also disagree that Analyst-level team members should conduct interviews with candidates for higher level jobs, and don't think there's any reason for me to accept such an arrangement in the future. What is more troublesome is taking advantage of unemployed people to gain information about how other companies do business - it isn't ethical and made the experience profoundly negative.