A recruiting coordinator reached out to set up a screening with the hiring manager. I enjoyed speaking to her but it wasn’t until the end of the interview that she said they needed an entire creative structure built. This was not clear in the job description.
The hiring manager told me to reach out with any questions. Worried I didn’t put my best foot forward, I spent the weekend creating a deck detailing my approach to building the creative structure. This was not an assignment—something I did on my own. No reply. I was shocked. I’ve hired several people and even if I didn’t think they were right for the role, I’d have thanked them for their effort.
Two weeks went by, so I reached out to the recruiting coordinator. An interview was set up with another team member. This 30 minute interview in which I had been told I’d get to discuss my approach ended up being rapid fire questions, almost the same ones I answered for the hiring manager. The interviewer looked at the screen away from the camera the whole time. After every answer, she said, “Awesome. Thanks.” with no enthusiasm. She exhibited no warmth and only smiled once when she was talking about herself during the 3 minutes I was given to ask questions.
Unsurprisingly, I received an email the next day that they were passing on me. I have no clue why they put me through to the 2nd round. It was a waste of both the interviewer’s and my time.