I submitted my resume and portfolio online, and then it was initially screened by the HR department or the system. After passing the initial screening, I was scheduled for the first round of face-to-face interview. The department manager learned about my basic background and career motivation during the interview, and at the same time, I was arranged to have interviews with two other on-the-job colleagues in the group.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How do you understand the concept of a design system?
I applied online. I interviewed at CIBC (Brampton, ON) in Jul 2025
Interview
1. I was sent an email invite for a 15 minute video interview, with no proper introduction in the body of the email. She did not even introduce herself or mentioned my name. Coming from a Senior Talent Acquisition, I was at least expecting some professionalism.
2. Day of video interview came. She was late and it was very obvious with her explanation that time management was out of the picture.
3. Despite her being late, I was being rushed the entire time of our conversation. Lost count of being cut off, her reason was because she has another call. So why not prepare for an interview fit for a 15 minute time instead of making us candidates feel that we're on speed dating game?
4. More red flags came when she gave information that is completely out of the posted job description. The role is onsite for a specific branch, but she questioned my capacity to move around to different branches and assuming duties outside the job scope. It seems I'm not the only one who had this issue.
CIBC, please check up on your hiring team. You can definitely do better.
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at CIBC (Toronto, ON) in Mar 2025
Interview
Application submission;
9 days later received screening call from recruiter followed a day later by recruiter interview. Was confirmed for second interview immediately and two weeks later had hiring manager interview.