Not impressed.
Had the initial phone screen call for a job for which I was a perfect fit, including prior gov contracting experience with the same active clearance this job required, and my salary req was inline. I’m professional, personable, and respectful. Think the interview was a slam dunk? Nope.
Recruiter and I hit it off, so at first I thought it was going well, until they asked “how much experience” I had. The recruiter made no attempt to hide the fact I was, shall we say, overqualified (ahem, too old) after I answered (over 15 yrs) In fact, the recruiter seemed very taken aback/shocked at my answer, and responded by saying something along the lines of “um, whoa - well uh, I don’t think this job is going to keep you busy enough”- or a similar, poorly veiled way to say what they were really thinking (trust me, from their reaction, it wasn’t me i being overqualified, skill-wise,) The message was clear, as the tone of the conversation after that became extremely awkward, and they got me off the phone as quickly as possible. Received the “thanks but no thanks” email afterwards, no surprise.
The recruiter seemed under qualified (ahem, ignorant and tactless) for what they were doing, as the reaction I received to the question was a tad blatant, and frankly, unprofessional.
Was curious if this was a fluke, so to be fair, I tried applying to 2 or 3 other positions there for which I was 100% qualified (and not overq, unless they aren’t communicating their requirements accurately). I didn’t even get a request for interview for any of them, and immediately received the “no thanks” email.
Do yourself a favor - if you want to work here and are a more experienced candidate- look at the min job requirements-specifically the #years exp required. When asked how much exp you have, respond with “I have over ——-(min #required) experience.” You might have a better shot. Good luck.