I've never written a review for an interview, but I felt that my particular experience at this organisation had to be written and shared. I received an email invitation to interview and was given a set time, not offered options. The process was a 10min presentation followed by a panel interview, with four people, via video call. I did enormous preparation in advance of the interview: researched, prepared and rehearsed my presentation multiple times. I also prepared for a number of interview questions and of course questions to ask the interviewers. My opinion of the actual interview is mixed and borderline negative. Having four members of staff on a panel says two things to me: 1 - they are spreading the responsibility of making a decision about the candidate they select, and 2 - to appear unnecessarily intimidating. Four people interviewing one person does not put a candidate at ease. During the interview, I felt the process was quite academic and formulaic, and the entire panel was female, which gave me pause. I also felt that some of the questions were not clearly worded - at one point I asked if they wanted me to provide an example as it wasn't clear. Following the interview, I received feedback promptly via email but the tone of the email was inappropriate, a bit condescending towards an experienced candidate, especially given the current Coronavirus climate where the job market is incredibly tough. They made a note of standard interview questions and made reference to the STAR technique. It almost felt like a feedback template, that they slightly adjusted for each candidate, as one of the questions they noted I answered perfectly (because one of the interviewers said 'perfect' after I had finished. The feedback also stated that I had asked too many questions - I asked four or five, I thought asking questions was usually viewed as a positive thing. Finally, they did not provide any feedback on my presentation which makes me wonder whether the only reason they wanted a presentation was for free ideas and were not in fact interested in my presentation or communication skills. This wasn't the first time I have interviewed with this organisation, but I'm afraid to say it might be the last.
