I was approached by a member of the Morgan Stanley Talent Acquisition team from Bangalore around March 2022 for a VP QA position in their Wealth Management team. After the initial HR screening, I got a call the next week that this is a high-priority position, needs to be filled ASAP and that there is a hiring drive happening this week. I was fine with that, and agreed to get the interviews scheduled within very short spans of time (like TA called me in the morning, and scheduled for a technical round later in the evening the same day).
Following are the 3 interviews that I gave:
- 30/MAR: First round, technical. Lasted for an hour, cleared.
- 4/APR: Second round, technical. Lasted for an hour, cleared.
- 8/APR: Third round, with the hiring manager. Lasted for an hour.
In my third round with the hiring manager, I was repeatedly asked if I will be ok with a hybrid model (2 days office, 3 days WFH) and overlap with US timings (8:30PM India). I have worked in US banks before so I assured the hiring manager that it would not be a problem. She said all good, the talent acquisition will get back to you soon.
I was very hopeful that my discussions had gone well, and that the next step would be the HR round for compensation discussions.
And then, I was ghosted. Completely.
I haven't heard back from the TA or anyone from Morgan Stanley after 8/APR. Even my application in their Taleo showed "Interview in progress" this whole time.
Finally, last week I myself withdrew my candidature from the position in Taleo, and that gave me the closure I needed.
Lot of time and effort spent, and it's just unfortunate that such reputed brands absolutely don't care what the candidates go through.