I have recently given three interviews for 2 of so-called big companies. There is a pattern. I am a copywriter, and the first two interviews were always very good. I first talked with HR, then I talked with the head of marketing who would be overseeing my work.
My experience took a drastic 180-degree turn when I talked with the CEOs. To be fair, I have felt humiliated by their questions. And now that I think about it, it feels like either they weren’t interested, or they weren’t really into the interview process and joined it at the last minute.
During the 3rd interview both times, I was asked to give my background information of who I am and what I do. Then, in one instance, the CEO asked me to give up everything for the company and I was a bit startled. He then proceeded to ask what AI tools I use, and why should he hire a human if AI is there. I was kind of startled. I told him in detail about my experience, and how and why he needed humans. Then he went about his company culture, confirmed that he was looking forward to hire me which was confirmed again by his heads. 2 weeks later, I heard that they rejected me.
In the other interview for another company, this CEO asked me once more about my background. Like where the hell were you in the past two interviews? He then asked me to explain my background experience. WTF? What’s the point of an extensive interview with marketing heads and HR if you have to conduct a separate interview and ask these basic questions again? He then proceeded to ask what formulas I use always for copywriting, and what books I have read as a copywriter? I was a bit confused as these I told him that that there is no one-size-fits-all for copywriting. I freelance for international clients all the time. It all depends on the market and the audience. AIDA formula might work in some cases, while in others, you can go forth with PAS approach.
And people respond more positively to soft CTAs than hard CTAs. I have this habit of asking for possible feedback in which he said he would have been more impressed if I mentioned working for fortune 500 companies. Ummm I don’t work for those companies as a freelancer.
To all such CEOs, are you serious? You made me go through extensive interviewing and a detailed test in which I proved my ability. What kind of dumb questions are you really asking? If you don’t trust the opinion of your marketing heads, why the hell did you even hire them in the first place?