It's as bad as others have said. I submitted an application and was emailed by a recruiter to set up an interview with the Hiring Manager. Speaking with the Hiring Manager was actually great. They listened really well, seemed interested in my answers and genuinely getting to know me and my experience. They were going to reach out to the recruiter with questions they had regarding sponsorship, but I never heard back. I emailed the recruiter, nothing. Never actually got the chance to speak to the recruiter. The recruiter then sent a generic email the next week saying my application didn't fit. It was definitely not an email you send to a candidate whose application apparently did fit and therefore that's why you set up an interview directly with the Hiring Manager. I emailed asking for feedback, nothing. Never got an answer to any question. Don't bother applying. If their candidate experience is this bad, I think I dodged a bullet. It's says a lot about a company that doesn't value a candidate's time.

This started out being a positive experience but kept going downhill from there. First, I was aware that it was supposed to be a 3-stage process: initial chat with the hiring manager, then life story with a recruiter, then a panel interview. However, in my case, what started out that way turned into 4 interviews and then an additional 2 for a different role that I didn't apply for. Positives: everyone I talked to seemed really passionate about what they do, genuinely interested in knowing about me and it all seemed to be a great fit. I enjoyed the conversations and I was progressed to the next stages immediately. Negatives: Interviews scheduling was hard and there were weeks between each scheduled interview, Because of the scheduling issues as well, the final panel interview had to be split into 2 different days of about 45 minutes per interview. This was stressful as I had to hear some of the same questions over again and repeat the same answers over again. But I still enjoyed the coversations as I was really excited about the role and everyone seemed excited about my candidacy. They also informed me that they had changed the title of this job to Talent Program Manager. We discussed salary expectations and visa sponsorships, both of which were positively aligned on both sides. However, after the 4th interview (aka panel interview part 2), I was informed about another role within the larger team that may be of interest to me. This was a more senior role and while I appreciated the gesture, I was more interested and excited about the program specialist/Talent program manager that I applied for because it was going to be a different and larger scope than anything I have ever done, plus it would be a new industry and company for me as I had never worked in tech, so it still gives me an opportunity to learn, excel and grow. I told them about this and explained that I would at least love to know their decision on my candidacy before I go interviewing for another role, as I had already invested months into the interview process. They insisted I talk to the hiring manager for the more senior role and said that they were excited about potentially having me in the company and so were just trying to figure out the best fit for me and would make a decision based on the outcome of that conversation. Essentially, I was given the impression that the decision was really about where to put me in, not whether I would be in. So I accepted the interview, and had a conversation for over an hour with the hiring manager for the senior role. After that interview, I expected that there would be a follow-up to know whether that role was of interest to me, since that was part of why they wanted me to interview for it. But there was nothing. And to be honest, while I was excited about a more senior role and wouldn't turn down an offer, I didn't think I was ready as there was a reason I applied for the specialist role, knowing that the scope of the specialist was the logical next step for me in my career and I was perfect for that (based on the feedback I received). About a week later, the recruiter for the Program specialist/talent program manager scheduled a video call with me informing that while I was amazing and everyone thought I was a great fit and perfect for the role, they wouldn't be offering me the position because they felt it was too junior for me. Then she said she would follow up with the recruiter for the senior role and see where they are in their hiring process, and likely I might have up to 1-2 more interviews for that. At this point, I already had 5 interviews and I was frustrated; it wasn't about skills since they clearly thought I had the skills for both roles, and it wasn't about cultural fit as everyone had positives to say (according to the recruiter), so why make me continue interviewing? I told them I could only do one more interview. As weeks went by, it was clear I wasn't even in the running anymore as I was offered an optional interview with a facilitator on the team who wasn't fully aware of why we were talking anyways. After this 6th and final interview, I got a long rejection email from the recruiter. The recruiter was apologetic but at this point, it didn't even matter as I was put through a gruesome process, psychologically and otherwise. Why push me to interview for a second role before even deciding on the first one and then reject me for both? If I wasn't good enough from the beginning, why waste my time? The process was from March to June and being told how great and amazing you are but still not being good enough to get the role after such a tedious process is horrible, no matter how apologetic or pleasant they sound.