Stage One, Hiring Manager Interview: A straightforward and positive experience. The discussion was focused on the role, what the company was looking for and what I could bring to the position. The hiring manager was well prepared, personable and created a genuinely professional and encouraging environment.
Stage Two, HR Interview: Be prepared to enter what feels less like a professional interview and more like a coaching session. The HR representative is a qualified life coach who appears to bring that external practice into what should be a structured and impartial professional assessment. Expect to be met with judgment that has already been formed before the conversation begins. Cultural fit is used as cover for what is in practice a deeply subjective and biased process.
Following this stage communication ceased entirely. No feedback, no next steps, no timeline. A follow up email went unanswered.
What future candidates should know: Enter this process with your eyes open. The contrast between stage one and stage two is stark and candidates deserve to know what they are walking into before they get there.