I recently went through CommBank’s recruitment process for a technical role. The process involved three technical rounds, all of which I successfully cleared. In the final interview, the panel even discussed the position with me, which made me believe things were moving in a positive direction.
However, the experience took a very unprofessional turn afterward. The HR department completely stopped responding. I sent three follow-up emails seeking an update, yet I never received a single reply. The lack of communication, accountability, and basic courtesy was extremely disappointing. In my experience, this has been one of the poorest HR interactions I’ve seen, even compared to some government-sector organisations.
Regarding the technical interviews themselves, some interactions were unnecessarily harsh. While I understand the need to challenge candidates, a few members of the panel crossed into unprofessional behaviour. Their tone was dismissive and disrespectful at times. It also felt like there was a tight-knit internal group or “lobby” within the panel that behaved more like a clique than a professional interview team. Instead of assessing candidates fairly, they seemed more focused on intimidation, which created a very toxic atmosphere.
I conduct interviews regularly in my own organisation, and while we thoroughly test candidates’ technical skills, we never compromise on respect or professionalism. Unfortunately, that standard was not upheld here.
Overall, between the disrespectful interview conduct and the completely unresponsive HR team, this has been one of the worst-managed recruitment experiences I’ve encountered. I hope CommBank seriously evaluates and improves its hiring practices, because this process leaves a very poor impression of the organisation
