In mid-January 2017 I was contacted by a recruiter about a development leadership position with EffectiveUI. I did some research and decided to throw my hat into the ring.
A week after that initial contact the process began with a standard phone screen with their in-house Talent Manager. This call was 30 minutes with nothing remarkable discussed, just the basics. It ended positively and I was told that I would hear from them in a few weeks.
A month later I had an on-site interview scheduled with the VP, Design and the Chief Strategy Officer. Only the VP, Design was present for that interview. (Red Flag #1)
During this interview I was told that they had struggled with keeping someone in this role; 8 people in 9 years had occupied this role – to be specific. (Red Flag #2)
Because the CSO had missed our scheduled on-site interview, I was asked to have another on-site interview with him. On the day of the interview I got a call from the recruiter that he was not in town and could I ‘just do a phone-screen with him?’ (Red Flag #3)
I agreed and our phone screen went well. We discussed leadership style, industry trends, and how I could help EffectiveUI’s bottom-line and create efficiencies for them that their development team is missing.
Fast-forward to the beginning of March and I received word that I was one of two finalists for this position. They presented me with two dates to choose from; my interview was scheduled for March 16 and details of the interview would be sent to me.
A few days later I received a general synopsis of their final interview process; 3 hours with 1 hour for technical interviews with their development team, followed by a 1.5-hour presentational-style interview with department heads and members of their leadership team.
Two days before the final onsite interview (a date selected by them) I received a call that they had messed up and needed to reschedule. (Red Flag #4)
A week later (now the end of March) I finally had that interview. My interactions with each member were positive and my presentation went better than I could have hoped.
The following Monday I got word that I was their choice and that an offer would be coming, but they wanted to know how “flexible” I was with salary requirements and to provide them with a list of soft benefits that might help if the dollars and cents were less than my current compensation. I also got some general feedback shared with the recruiter from their Talent Manager:
“The team really really likes (him) great presentation, very enthusiastic He could be the one to lead the group”
At the request of my recruiter, I started compiling some negotiating points and delivered this list late Monday night.
On Tuesday my phone rang; it was the recruiter. He did not sound happy or positive in any way. He had bad news.
“Someone” at EffectiveUI had Googled me and spent some time with my Social Media. In short, I was told that my politics “disqualified” me from the position and their decision was final.
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I was never entitled to this job and EffectiveUI can, for any reason, decide not to hire me. I’m fine with that. What I am not ok with is that I had invested 2.5 months of my time, over 40 hours of prep and interview time, and advanced past each round with ease.
If political affiliation is going to be a reason to disqualify candidates, which I personally disagree with and would never choose to hire or not hire a qualified individual someone for that reason, then get it out of the way earlier. Making a decision like that after the tremendous investment by all parties is absurd.
If this was the Talent Manager, then shame on her for not vetting me much earlier. Not only was my time wasted, but hours of their employees and upper management's time was wasted.
If it was someone higher up than her – then, frankly, I am lucky to not have gone to work for a company led by someone so close-minded and tightly tied to their own agenda.
If it was a lower-level employee, likely someone who would have reported to me; then this is the scariest scenario of all. To allow employees to force a company into a hiring decision that doesn't align with their worldview is terrifying and I can only imagine what it would have been like if I would have had to manage that individual.
If you’re considering employment with EffectiveUI, be sure that you are prepared to navigate not only the expectations of the job but the political environment that apparently drives decision making for them.
In the end, I recognize that not receiving an offer from EffectiveUI was a gift wrapped in ugly paper, but I hope to save someone in the future from this experience.
