Applied Online. I received a phone call asking me to schedule a Zoom meeting with the founder, Florence. I had the Zoom interview, and it went well. She said she would need 7-10 days to check my history. After nine days, I called back to check on the application status - Florence scheduled an onsite interview. I arrived and performed a quantity take-off list with an incomplete set of blueprints. After mentioning this to the attendant, she said it was all I needed. Performed the quantity take-off and wrote the missing dimensional information in the other parts of the missing plans. Upon review, the test protector instructed me there was no need to be so specific and the detailers would do the rest. It was not the correct method. She then berated me for not knowing how the steel industry works. I responded that I had a master's degree in construction management and two years as a project engineer, and this was never an acceptable method in any other company or academic setting I had been a company to. She dismissed me and said she would call if she had any other questions.

Upon being admitted into the building, it was clear that the people here and their energy was negative and lifeless. The building interior was dirty, unorganized, and dimly lit. Before being asked any questions, I was given a 'test' to determine length and quantity of types of columns and beams within five sheets of an architectural plan/profile for a house. I was given a 90 minute time window for this. I finished in 45 minutes, and had to wait another 45 minutes to be talked to again because my interviewer was in a meeting. Once my interviewer was free, she returned and I gave her my answer sheet. She was unsure about one of my answers and left to check with another coworker. She returned after five minutes and said my first answer was incorrect. However, she had never specified that I was to only count on the second floor of the plan sheets, yet I was given the sheets for the entire building. I explained that I found the quantities for that type of beam in the entire building, and showed her my work on the back of the answer sheet (which was correct). She straight-up dismissed it. Proceeded to ask general interview questions about salary, education, and work experience. I asked about Glassdoor reviews describing a negative work environment and nepotism, to which she replied, "I have been on maternity leave for a while, so I don't know about anything negative around here. And regarding nepotism, this is technically a family business, so yeah." I asked what would likely be the biggest challenge I would face as a newcomer in this position, to which she replied, "getting used to file structure and filing system. We can be DISORIENTED, the company and managers are DISORGANISED."