The actual title of the job is Operations Associate - Office of the CEO, just for transparency.
I was delighted to receive an interview request with a NYTimesCo recruiter just a couple of days after applying on September 12th. It was scheduled for a few days later.
The video chat - both sides had cameras on - was only 30 minutes, which is typical, but the recruiter wasn't at all interested in much. Like other reviews, I feel like they were having to hit a quota.
He asked me to tell him which role I applied for, which I found odd. He either didn't know, or he for whatever reason thought I didn't.
He spoke of the role like he was a robot reading it off of a paper, and divulged that it is a brand new role that has never been occupied before.
He asked very few questions about my background, which, because of, I am highly qualified for the role that I applied for (I imagine like a lot of other people are).
He asked my why the NYTimes and, aside from being the newspaper of record and with solid journalism, I mentioned that I was a huge Bill Cunningham fan - I showed him my autograph photo of Bill that I keep here by my desk - and he had no clue who he was.
He said I'd move on to the next phase and even outlined the entire process leading up to a 15 minute interview with the CEO herself. Must've all be a ruse.
After that, I was ghosted like so many other candidates. Not even a 'thanks but no thanks' email; the statement that I was moving to the next phase one for the ages now.