ABC Software Engineer interview experience

I went into it knowing what I needed, and I was able to answer the questions I was asked. The overall experience felt productive, and I didn’t feel like the interview itself was a failure of performance.

The real problem came down to expectations. The salary discussion ended up being the deal breaker, despite the fact that I’d been clear about my requirements from the beginning. After that, it was hard not to feel like the process was decided more by compensation alignment than by the technical evaluation.

I left with the sense that my preparation and communication were fine—the mismatch