I'm pretty disgusted with the whole process... First I was emailed a list of questions from the Recruiter that the hiring manager wanted answered. The questions were generic for the most part and was expecting them to be more specific in order to measure my competencies for the position. Regardless, I put a lot of thought and time in answering the questions and sent them back for review. They were forwarded on to the hiring manger (by the recruiter) and heard nothing for weeks.
Then weeks later, the Recruiter reached out again and wanted to have a brief chat. I chased for almost two weeks in trying to get a call setup. The communication was horrible...I was asked for dates and time, gave whole days of availability within my schedule, and was told none of those times worked. I finally just asked for the recruiter's availability. I figured this person was busy and I will adjust my schedule accordingly to get this call booked. But, I would then get a date and time, said I was availability, and try to confirm it only to not get a response in time. When the response came, another time was offered up. I again said I was good with the new time and then again told the time no longer worked. The topping was when the date and time was actually confirmed (after several iterations) the recruiter never called! Hours later, that same day, the recruiter sent an email and asked if we could do it later in the day...to be exact, 25 minutes from the time the email was sent! I was so disgusted by this point that I almost pulled my application as I felt this was very unprofessional, but I figured I had gone this far I might as well see it through. So, I emailed back and confirmed the time...I didn't get a response back but I was called...roughly 10 minutes after the scheduled time but at least we finally connected.
After all of that, the kicker for me was when the recruiter started asking some off the cuff questions. What does variance analysis mean to you? If you were trapped in an elevator and had 30 seconds to tell somebody about your current job, what would you say? Are you kidding me??? The variance analysis question was the same I answered in the initial email. Why was I being asked it again? Did no one read my email??? Furthermore, how could you make a determination about anyone asking them to explain their current job in 30 seconds!?!? I felt like I was being jerked around, and as a current working professional for a multinational company, I was tempted to say I can't explain 15 years of experience in 30 seconds! It reminded me of dating...where you meet someone for the first time, get asked some generic questions, and immediately the other person forms an opinion of you before they even know who you are! I think the recruiter and hiring manager forget this is a two way street! I didn't need this job...I already had a good one, but I wanted to explore options with Homeaway as I read good things about the company.
After all of that, that evening the recruiter sent me an email and said the hiring manager decided not to bring me in for a 1 to 1 and other candidates were a better fit. I was almost relieved at this point after the experience I had. I don't need to work for someone that makes a valuation of someone with 15 years of experience (doing the type of work the role required) by asking the generic odd ball questions I was asked. I didn't understand this process at all...maybe that was the point and why I didn't get called in for a 1-1? If that is the case, they deserve what they get...if that is not the case, then they are letting talent go without doing the proper due diligence of vetting them correctly. Either way, good job Homeaway!