I was actually very excited to interview with Rocket, I have been very successful in my career at a much larger company to date and was looking for a shift to a smaller company where I could take an active role in helping them grow and grow my career and compensation along with them as they scaled.
I met with three individuals who were kind enough to meet with me fairly early in the morning. I felt all three were clearly bright however I found the first rather aloof (given his position and recent transitions in the firm I think he just had a lot of his mind). A very nice man but he seemed indifferent to me, my attempts to be interactive and engaging, and to my responses to his questions. The second individual was great, very interactive and clearly knowledgeable (I would have loved working with him as he was someone who was as passionate about Finance as I am). The last however, the HR rep, walked me through my resume and after being all smiles suddenly she said "It was [her] job to act as a gatekeeper of the culture", that I was too much of a go-getter, that it was "unreasonable to think [I] could effect change within two years of arriving at Rocket" and "unfair to think [I] could make Manager in my first five years as there are people already in line for those jobs who have been working here for longer." She then closed with "...and in my opinion you'll never make Executive here." I was stunned.
In my experience, talented people shift from larger (more structured) companies to smaller companies for reasons that are the opposite of what she was saying. Why would strong candidates go to a small company if they would suddenly be put at the back of the leadership pipeline regardless of what they bring to the table simply because they had arrived after those who were already present? A shocking revelation of apparently what Rocket thinks about talent and people management. So take note.