APPLICATION Contacted by a recruitment agency for a hardware design position in the PowerVR group. 1 week after the application a Skype interview was scheduled for 2 weeks later. SKYPE TECHNICAL INTERVIEW I, 1 hour Skype call (no video) centered around DSP design techniques. After a quick resume check, the interviewer gave me some short exercises, the solution of which could be reached with just basic hardware design knowledge and some logical thinking. No rush from his part, smooth experience. 2 hours after the interview I was contacted by my recruiter for scheduling a second technical interview the following week. SKYPE TECHNICAL INTERVIEW II, 2 hours Skype call (no video) with two interviewers. After another resume check, I was asked to implement a FIFO with simultaneous read and write using single-port RAMs. I drove them through my thinking, I ask them some questions to guide me; I probably had some good ideas but after an hour I still wasn't able to come up with a working implementation. Then, I was asked to complete an incomplete timing diagram for a given system. Very trivial exercise, but not well described imho. I asked them some clarification the beginning and starting from the interviewers' answer, I spent an hour trying to find the solution. I asked the initial question again but this time they gave me a different answer. After that, I was able to solve the exercise in 5 minutes. A week after the interview the recruiter told me that I was close to be selected but I was not, because of my second technical interview. He also told me Imagination Technologies would have considered me for a verification position in the same team, without the need of other technical interviews. After 3 weeks I was contacted again and asked to complete an online test: it was an incredibly simple multiple-choice test on binary conversion and logic gates. The day after the test I was asked to have another technical interview, but I refused to do that. I was disappointed by the last part of the recruitment process. Going back I would probably applied through the company website, in order to get feedback directly from Imagination Technologies HR.

Application: I attended the career fair at the uni and talked to them. Later I applied the 2020 graduate hardware role online on 21st Oct. 4 days later, I received a phone call telling me I got the phone interview on 04 Nov. Telephone interview: I was asked some basic normal questions like what is a flip-flop. How to multiply a number by 7 or by 14. The range of an 8-bit signed and unsigned number. On the same day, I was asked to attend have a face to face interview. On-site interview: There are two interviews with four different interviewers. Two interviewers at a time. All seem to be principle of a subteam. In the first round, I was asked some digital questions, like how to implement an LFSR and build logic or state machine with them. Some hard questions were asked, I got stuck on them for a few moments. But they are both really friendly not really mean of giving hints. With hints offered, I answered all the questions with the right answer. It is not really easy and obvious questions to answer. Also, some software or algorithm questions were also asked. In the second round, I was expected to answer two questions, but they decided to give me an extra software-related question. The second round was less intense, a puzzle and state machine building question were asked. The software question is about the string process and do the parenthesis check. I answered them all with the right answer. Overall experience: Overall, the interview experience is supportive and friendly even it is intense and hard. Even I answered all the questions they asked, I still did not get the role. Guess I am not the creative thinker they need.