This interviewing process was… awful. It left me feeling so unsure of myself.
I’d come across a posting for a few roles within Cielo. Naturally, I visited the organization’s website, studied their mission and values, and looked up employee/candidate reviews. I’d connected with a Recruiter who tried their hardest to align my current skillset and career goals with roles within my desired salary range and region. After speaking with the Recruiter, we went through leaps and bounds to coordinate an after-hours virtual interview with one of the Hiring Managers.
I’d never spoken to or heard of this specific hiring manager so I was excited to learn more about Cielo from their perspective, understand the team dynamic, understand the expectations of the role, and of course, gain knowledge about how I’d fit into it all. I waited and waited on the Zoom link for the Hiring Manager — she was 5-6 minutes late but no worries, I totally understood that things come up. The interviewer finally joined, 6 minutes later than our scheduled time and turned on her camera. What really struck me as odd was how, when I turned on my camera, the interviewer gave such a look of disappointment. I immediately questioned internally, wondering if I’d done something wrong. Also, the interviewer did not bother to apologize for being late — again, no worries.
Within one minute of the call, I realized that I was actually being interviewed for a different role than I’d discussed with the Recruiter. I’d planned to inquire about the role that I was actually interested in but… within 2 minutes of the call, the interviewer made sure to hint at her disapproval of my short tenure at recent jobs. She asked something along the lines of, “how long do you plan to stay in your next role?”. At that time, I understood and appreciated the candor. Right after getting into the reasons for leaving my last job, the Zoom call dropped.
I waited, and waited. A few minutes go by and I receive a text from the interviewer stating that her internet service went out. Again, no worries. Things happen. I then received a phone call from her and I resumed providing her with an overview of my recent experience. She did not respond to my experience overview with excitement nor discontent. In fact, there was not much of a response at all. She did, however, state that the role I was being considered for (the WRONG role) was a “step above” what I’d done previously (which is true, I’ve only had about 2 years of experience in the role that the interviewer was discussing).
Throughout the remainder of our short conversation (the entire interview only lasted about 15 minutes), the interviewer’s body language, personal bias, focus on the wrong things, lack of response, and intent to intimidate me was extremely prevalent. I should’ve just cut the call short but… I always aim to give others the benefit of the doubt.
Maybe the interviewer was having a rough day, maybe the timeline to fill this role is winding down. However, overall, the interviewer just gave off an obvious uninterested, negative vibe that has had such an impact on how I now view that company.
I appreciate that the Recruiter was especially apologetic for this experience since she’d referred me for the role and connected me with the hiring manager. However, I was sure to provide her with candid feedback and requested that she share this feedback with the hiring manager.
