I was contacted by a headhunter about the position. It took three weeks to schedule the first screening interview with the recruiter. The recruiter was very nice and immediately recognized that I was the right fit. She said she would schedule an interview with the hiring manager, which took another three weeks to arrange. The interview with the hiring manager went well, and she invited me to meet the rest of the team. A day before the meeting, the headhunter contacted me and requested a portfolio of my work. I didn't have a portfolio because I've spent my entire career working for corporations, where I wasn't allowed to save or share my work. Nonetheless, I spent nearly 16 hours putting together an impressive portfolio, including examples of media, strategies, AI-led initiatives, and other interesting projects. When I presented my work to the team, it was clear they were confused. They had only expected to see PowerPoint presentations or e-learning modules. Instead, I demonstrated an AI chatbot capable of solving complex problems and developing media in 30 minutes, tasks that usually took them a week. They didn't ask any thoughtful questions about my demo. Instead, they asked how I would work with other team members who had been there for several years but had basic skills. I said I believed in collaboration and planned to coach other team members to bring them up to speed. After the interview, I realized some team members felt vulnerable and insecure after seeing my work. They likely saw me as competition rather than a teammate who could help them reach world-class standards. A week later, I received a rejection email without any explanation. When I contacted the headhunter, he also wasn't given a reason. A week later, I connected with someone on LinkedIn who had recently left MLI. They told me they left because the company lacked diversity. The majority of employees were locals who had been with the company for 15-20 years and had become directors, but they hadn't kept up with industry advancements and preferred people who looked like them. This explained everything. I would not recommend any minority person waste their time with the interview process at MLI. Additionally, the company is located in the middle of nowhere in Washington, which is another significant drawback.