I had a few rounds of interviews with various cross-functional teams. These were fairly standard, lasting around 30 minutes. Most of them were conversations, not hard-core interviews. People asked me about my experience but also made an effort to help me understand the company and how the different divisions/teams work together, so I was feeling really positive in the early stages. I should admit that I knew this job was a step back for me in terms of title, but I was okay with that because I loved the company. Then I got the "take-home test." It was an exercise that I was told should take 2 hours, but to do a decent job, one needed to put in at least 3-4 times that. The asks of the test were also WAY beyond what someone at this level would be able to do. These were my first clues that there was internal confusion or misalignment around what they were hiring for. I asked for clarification because I was both interested in and qualified for a more elevated job description and title. But I was told that this was, in fact, an associate role. I tried to be positive and open but still ask questions and advocated for a fair assessment of what the role would require of someone vs the title and pay, but never got anywhere. In fact, I had one more interview with someone pretty high up on the food chain who was not super warm or receptive to my questions in this regard. That was the end of my chances! I don't know for sure that they ever hired for this specific role and think, instead, that they rewrote it to be (at least) a manager.

I was selected for a phone screen through my online application, and I believe reaching out to a few people on LinkedIn and one via email may have also helped. The interview lasted about 20 minutes, but the interviewer seemed apathetic, asking only three of the most common questions and showing little responsiveness.