First time poster, long time lurker on antiwork.
Yesterday was easily the worst interview of my life. Buckle up, I need to vent and this is a long one.
Some background: I really like my current job, however my girlfriend and I are moving soon because she just finished grad school and got an awesome job in a different state. We're young (mid 20s) and need the money (student loans, rent is high, existing, etc) and we both agreed it was the right move. I would have to drive 1 hour and 20 mins to work everyday if I kept my current job which would be hard both on me and our bank account. Gas is expensive and I only make 46k a year (I do sales/member acquisition for a non-profit, so there's obvi no commission) and the whole reason we're moving is to save money in the long run.
So I've been interviewing for this new entry level business development role with a tech startup for 2 months now. I'd already done 3 other interviews with HR, my future direct boss, and a panel of C-level executive staff. The interview process was extremely positive and I got along well with everyone I met. I was described as a “well qualified candidate” by other executives over email and I felt the same, I'd already done everything they were looking for in the role, just not in a tech-manufacturing capacity before (which they were all fine with, it's a highly specific and obscure industry).
I'd finally reached the final boss of the interviewing process: The CEO. A final interview was scheduled by HR, and I took PTO so I could attend the meeting over zoom. The CEO doesn't show up on time, I'm disappointed and confused so I decide to reach out and email him to ask if he's still attending after sitting on a zoom call by myself for 20 minutes on my day off like a dumbass. He replies quickly but doesn't apologize, and claims it was someone else's fault because it wasn't on his calendar, even though he was CCed on the invite.
He asks to reschedule for later in the week. I give him a few times that work for me and wait patiently for a response. He doesn't get back to me until the following week, at 9 PM on a weeknight, to schedule an interview for the following day. Keep in mind, I'm moving in less than two weeks at this point, so if I want to do right by my current employer and honor a 2 weeks notice (and I do), I'm now going to be making a long ass commute. I've mentioned my timeline to all my interviewers multiple times and they were cool with it, however the CEO doesn't seem to care.
So, yesterday was finally the day of the interview he actually showed up for. I was incredibly anxious but things had gone so well with other members of his staff I figured I had nothing to worry about. How wrong I was! The interview started out with the basic pleasantries and basic questions like tell me about yourself and what value do you bring to this role, all stuff you'd expect. What was weird was after I'd answer a question, he'd make a small snide comment or quip about my experience and capacity to perform the role.
It was bad from the very beginning. I told him I had a degree in English and went into detail about my sales and marketing experience and how it overlapped with the responsibilities of the role. He visibly rolled his eyes when he heard I had a degree in English and rather than commenting on all the other experience and qualifications I had for the role, asked me if I had any experience in the hard sciences or STEM. I mentioned electives such at statistics classes in college and part time experience teaching computer skills, but that was met with “That's not what hard sciences are, but ok.” The interview started to feel more like an interrogation after this.
It was easily the most uncomfortable experience I've had professionally. I was hammered with questions that I did my best to answer around topics like the chemical manufacturing process in which they create their products (I explained it the best I could, but it was “basic” from his point of view, and this role required me to be an expert, he added). At one point he commented “haven't you looked at our website and white papers, all of this is right there you should be an expert on this,” which led to an awkward silence. Of course I had looked at the website many times, and I did have a general understanding of their products, but how could he expect me to have expert level knowledge of their manufacturing process before I'm even hired? Also, allow me to remind you, per the job description this is an ENTRY level position.
Near the end of the interview, he asked me if I had any questions for him. I informed him I did not and before he could respond said goodbye and left the call. I spent 2 months interviewing for this role and all I got out of it was a 20 minute chat with a pedantic STEM lord who was only supposed to give the OK on the hire the rest of his staff wanted. Instead, he tried to belittle me for my degree and now I'm going to move forward with the 3 other places I've been interviewing with. Good luck, future candidates. You will need it.