Feb. 5 - Applied to role
Feb. 8 - The CoEnterprise hiring team viewed the application.
The recruiter emailed me expressing interest in meeting with me and asked for my availability. I replied with my availability and asked about the salary range for the role (it was not listed in the job description, and a desired salary was required on the application).
He responded that he knew the amount I listed in the job application and that they were interested in interviewing me.
Feb. 13 - 30-minute video Interview with the recruiter. First, he went through the job description and the company. He mentioned the company was based in Midtown, NY, and double-checked my location (NYC).
He mentioned the CEO is an early riser and would start emailing items to the EA at 5:30 am. The EA would be required to attend all meetings with the CEO, taking minutes and following up on action items. At the end of the day, around 5-6 pm, the CEO would like to meet and recap the day.
We reviewed my experience, and he asked me to give examples of meetings I attended with my previous supervisors and what that entailed. He then asked about the compensation I requested and for me to speak on that. We briefly discussed the remote position and some of the benefits of the role. He again asked about the compensation I requested and mentioned he had to return that number to leadership.
I asked why the role was open, and he said it was new due to the CEO not having the resources to do everything. I also asked how performance would be measured, and he replied that they weren’t sure and that I could possibly help with that.
I asked about the company culture. He mentioned that no one has the time to micro-manage, and they don’t care when you log in as long as you get the work done. There will be no one to onboard you. If you’re unsure of something, you must ask for help.
He mentioned going back to leadership, and I should hear back within 72 hours. The process is two rounds of interviews. One with someone from HR, one with the CEO, and possibly one with someone from Finance. He mentioned that the budget was approved for Q1, and they want someone to start March 1.
Feb. 14 - I was asked to pick a time slot for the interview with someone from HR.
Feb. 20 - One-hour video interview with HR. She reviewed the role and the company. I took her through my work experience, skills, and strengths. She asked about my compensation expectations, and I let her know I would consider the whole package (compensation, benefits, etc.). She mentioned that this is an exempt role and would email me the benefits to review. It was a pleasant experience, and she advised the recruiter to get back to me within 24 hours and that if I had any questions, to email her. She also asked me to think about my prior experience working with a large corporation and how it would be quite different working in a small start-up environment with less budget and fewer resources.
Feb. 20 - I was asked to pick a time slot for my interview with the CEO. I chose Feb. 27.
Feb. 21 - I emailed the HR representative asking why the role was exempt. What was the formal reasoning for this classification, and what the salary range was for the role? She replied that she’d happily answer my questions over the phone.
Feb. 22 - I called the HR representative, and she said the role was exempt because the EA would be working closely with the CEO and would fall in the administrative exemption. She also mentioned she was unsure of the salary range since this is a new role for the company, and they wanted to do more interviews to find a range. I mentioned the NYC salary transparency law, and she responded that they are recruiting nationwide and aren’t a NY-based company. This was a red flag as the recruiter mentioned they are based in Midtown. She said she would happily withdraw my application since they weren’t aware of the salary range yet OR she would get back to me once they’ve interviewed more people. Also, a red flag, as the recruiter mentioned, the budget has been approved for Q1. She said they knew I was asking for X amount and weren’t even sure if they could do that.
Feb. 25 - I checked, and the job was no longer listed.
Feb. 26 - The day before my scheduled interview with the CEO, the recruiter called me saying they spoke to the CEO, and since they weren’t sure how the performance of the role would be measured, they are taking a pause on the hiring. He apologized and said the role may be posted again in a month or so.
Overall, it was a horrible experience as they did not know what they were looking for, were not transparent with the salary range, and wasted about 3 weeks of my time. This process was a preview of working for this company. Please do your due diligence when applying here.
