RED FLAGS! I entered the interview loop for a VP of Brand role and was screened for that role. When my second interview was scheduled with the CEO she spoke with me a Performance Role & said they were flexible on title. The CEO was 20 mins late to this call. That was the first red flag. Also, why is there no job descriptions or concrete leveling for this alternative role? I was then brought in person for three separate, 1 hour long, interviews. Second red flag was a hour before these 3 back to back interviews HR reached out asking me to come in 30mins earlier which I could not accommodate at such short notice. Following those interviews I was asked to sign an NDA to complete an assignment leveraging their data & metrics. I’ve worked exclusively for Fortune 500 companies & at FAANG companies (L6). I have never been asked to formulate a go to market strategy based on company insights or at all. I let HR know I was not comfortable providing free marketing strategy & that my 10 years of experience & 5 hours of interviews with them should have provide sufficient insight into my background & skill level. The CEO was then looped in & she shared that they could not accommodate my request because “everyone else did it and it had to be fair”. Third red flag, how is interviewing candidates with completely different skills & background ever “fair”? The CEO then shared a Director level JD for the role and said she hadn’t actually ever seen the assignment, that the VP of digital handles it, but she’d look into what it entailed. Two more red flags, again I entered the interview funnel for a VP level role not Director. Also, why is the CEO pushing me to complete an assignment she’s never even seen??? I share that making marketing strategy reccos is the scope of the role & that I’m not in the role yet & I don’t do volunteer work. All this to say they ghosted. Likely because I was right about them using that “assignment” to get free marketing strategy.