I knew this interview was going to go south when the recruiter reached out to me twice on LinkedIn for the same role, even after I had already confirmed a meeting with him. I had told him that I’d scheduled time on his calendar for the following week, so it was confusing to get another message about the same position. When the interview finally happened, he joined two minutes late—no apology, no context—which was fine, but it set the tone. He didn’t introduce the company or explain the role, which made the conversation feel directionless. Shortly after starting, he said he wanted to be transparent and mentioned that the VP of Marketing had decided they wanted someone with a real estate background. I told him I didn’t have that experience, and he immediately said they probably wouldn’t be able to move forward but still asked me to talk about myself. At that point, I was taken aback. I told him that if we weren’t going to move forward, there was no point in continuing, and I ended the interview early. My recommendation to the recruiting team and leadership: please clarify what you’re looking for before reaching out to candidates, show up on time, and be respectful of people’s time.