My experience with Criteo was not pleasant at all. While the initial process with HR was warm and welcoming, the later stages—including the experience-based interview and the role play—felt more like a constant challenge, but not in a constructive way. Instead, it resembled a "good cop, bad cop" dynamic, which did not create a comfortable environment to properly showcase my skills and experience.
Additionally, the case study stage involved another role play, but the instructions provided beforehand differed significantly from what was actually asked during the call. Even though they stated that detailed knowledge of the product was not required, the approach taken during the evaluation did not align with the structure initially shared for the role play. This resulted in a highly negative and frustrating experience, especially considering that preparing these cases requires days of effort and time.
Following this, I received a generic feedback email stating that I lacked certain skills—despite having over eight years of experience in similar roles. I did not find the process to be constructive or insightful; rather, it felt more like an attempt to corner candidates and make them doubt their own expertise. While I understand the importance of a challenging selection process, this is not the kind of company culture I would want to be a part of.
I strongly encourage Criteo to improve its interview approach, ensuring greater clarity in the case study instructions and fostering a more constructive candidate experience.