I want to lead with the facts that I like this company and wanted this job.
Four rounds, all felt clear and fair. I felt confident as the interviews progressed that I was well-recieved. No tangible feedback was ever given during process, but that’s normal. As it progressed, interviews became more personal, which felt like they benefitted me in fostering interpersonal comms and allowed both company and I to show cultural overlap. Some interviews seemed purely like formalities (where I had more questions than the interviewer).
There was lots of emphasis by interviewers on time-sensitivity and my availability to start and hit the ground running. However, this was not balanced because of lots of time passed between contact or updates. Updates were promised by hiring team, repeatedly, then consistently not met. The mismatch made the process feel confused, and the impression was of a leader who has a hard time making decisions.
The process was full of contradictions. “Here’s my WhatsApp”, (but don’t message me). “We need initiative from this leader and it’s a big position”, (then dead air; I gave a simple thank you to interviewer on LinkedIn and this was raised back to me “the” warning flag for me as a candidate; status updates from them at seven weeks into process were non-existent). “We want you to travel in three weeks, are you available?” (Yes, Then, silence for two weeks).
I felt the JD matched my profile, and was confident about what I could bring and the skills and mentality I brought. But, as time passed, their lack of comms made the role inherently less attractive. The process was risk-averse and uncertain. When pay was discussed, it was below market expectation for a (self-proclaimed) senior position. A more honest indication of progress (at any point before four rounds and two months) would have been a more reasonable way to treat a prospect.
