I applied online. I interviewed at Billtrust (New York, NY) in Sep 2017
Interview
The initial phone screen with the HR person was as expected. Based on my experience he quickly moved me to the next round which was a Skype call with the relatively new hiring manager, which took place about a week later. Despite what I had read on Glassdoor, I was excited about the potential and spent much time preparing. What I encountered however was something I was not prepared for.
The hiring manager has been with the company for just 3 months and based on his online profile, has had several roles with 3 different companies in the past 8 years, which is not uncommon in today's world. For that reason I was surprised by his line of questioning which was almost entirely about why I left this job or that job. He was more focused on why I left my prior jobs than he was in what I've accomplished during my 30-year career. He was so condescending, suggesting at one point that it seemed that I didn't understand what their product was.
Yes, I've been downsized in the past and took a chance by accepting a role with a startup that lasted 4 months, but in between all that I've had some great success with a couple of Fortune 100 companies. In other words, I have definitely been a solid contributor to my employer and have enjoyed some professional success. Yet for some reason this guy wanted to focus solely on the negatives of my career.
A few days later I followed-up with the HR person with whom I had dealt and explained that I was not interested in pursuing the position any further, solely because of the treatment I received from this hiring manager. I went on to explain that the recruiter will have a hard time filling that role if other candidates have the same experience with this hiring manager. He represents the company, and based on my experience with him, I would have no interest in working for this company.
UPDATE -- I received a very nice response from the manager of talent acquisition who apologized for the negative experience. Based on her response, I do believe that the talent acquisition team works hard to ensure a positive candidate experience. Now if only they can get this hiring manager on board with that thinking.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Why did you leave this role? And this role? And this role?