I interviewed for the Community Ecosystem Engagement Lead (CEEL) position and appreciated the opportunity to speak with the team. The role was framed as a community and clinic engagement position focused on equity so I was genuinely excited about the mission and the chance to contribute meaningfully to HIV work. Unfortunately, after completing a panel interview, I never received any formal communication about next steps or a decision. Weeks passed, and the only communication I received was an automated survey about salary expectations, followed by another generic survey congratulating me on “reaching the interview round” long after my interview had already taken place. This left me confused and disappointed. What made the experience more disheartening was noticing, through public LinkedIn announcements, that many people were hired into this same role in other regions, the vast majority of whom appeared to be internal Merck staff coming from HIV sales roles. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with internal mobility, it felt like external candidates were brought into the process with no real transparency about how many positions were already earmarked internally. Given how the role was presented in interviews, as equity-focused, not sales-driven, the outcome made me question whether I had been misaligned from the start. I would’ve appreciated more clarity upfront about what Merck was truly looking for, and whether this was a genuine external hiring process or not. I still respect Merck’s mission, but this experience left me with real concerns about how the company handles external applicants, especially for roles tied to equity and community engagement.