Where to from here
I recently interviewed for a position with popular startup company in Australia. In my entire career, this was probably the longest interview ever.
After close to 1.5 months or 7 weeks, I got the update today that I'm not getting the offer. This is, after 7 rounds of gruesome interview sessions. I wanted to document my experience, so that one day, I can look back and know that I survived this as well. :)
Now, where to start. I got a notification on LinkedIn about the position and immediately applied for it. Within a day I got the call from the recruiter requesting to book in a time for the screening interview. This is round one.
During the screening interview, the recruiter felt I should apply for a role higher than the one I actually applied for. So they booked me in for an interview with hiring manager. This was round 2.
The interview with hiring manager went fine, and a day later I got the call to proceed with the next stage - another 3 rounds of interview session with 5 different people. I passed it with positive feedback. However, this is where things started to fall apart. While they liked me, they were on the fence. They felt they could do something to keep me warm while they hunt for other candidates. Having been a hiring manager myself, I know this is a common practice - a practice that I never practiced as it is unprofessional.
So I sensed this. They decided to book me in for the last round with the head of the department, funnily though the appointment is for a week later. Yep, they're keeping me warm for sure. I played along with their game.
In the last interview (it was the 6th round), the whole session was designed to attack me and break me down, make me feel like I'm worthless, or stupid. It didn't feel right. After the interview, the recruiter took 3 days to get back. And when they did, the response was still "positive" but they want me to go for another interview (round 7!) with the hiring manager (again!). At this point I was told it's more of a general chat. But it ended up being "solving a real world problem" session. I knew at this point, they just wanted to drop me and needed to get a reason that is unreasonable.
After 7 rounds, and 7 weeks, I was told I wasn't fit for the role. I'm glad I didn't get the offer. I would have declined it anyway.
Now, my lesson from this is, always offer to present your understanding of the advertised role. Talk about your past experience and how you see yourself fit into this role. Ask them back, does this align to their understanding. This will not stop them from rejecting you, but it will stop them from using it as a reason and give proper valid feedback.
I'm glad that I'm not actively looking for a role - I would have been gutted if I rejected another offer while waiting to hear back from this company. I feel it's just wrong for an organisation to do this. If someone doesn't fit into the role, then let them go. What a trip!
