I had a total of 7 different interviews over a couple of months. I spoke to many fantastic leaders across the organization, but when it came down to the last interview with the direct team I would be managing, it was a 30-minute disorganized mess. There was no plan, no expectations, no structure, no one person leading, and a lot of blank stares, which left me asking the questions for the first half of the interview. The team seemed preoccupied and unprepared. A couple of days later, I received a rejection email stating I wasn’t a fit. The team left specific feedback for me, expressing their dissatisfaction with the answers to questions we didn’t even speak about. It was an insulting way to end a journey for someone who invested so much time in getting to know your organization. I feel like I dodged a bullet and have openly shared my experience, warning others of what a waste of time that was.