Can’t believe I’m typing this but this is absolutely absurd.
Recently was interviewing for a high level sales position with a mid-size company in a niche industry and I thought things were going well.
I had an initial phone interview with the internal recruiter who said they were having trouble finding candidates. She was very nice and mentioned they’re like a family (red flag).
I then had an additional virtual interview with an operations manager in a different office and things were still going well. I had some reservations about minor things. They’re totally in office, said they’re a little bit old school with things and are a little behind adapting to the new work culture but looking to change that (red flag 2). I still was intrigued by the industry and money.
I was then scheduled for an in-office interview with my direct report. I got there on time but nobody was at the front desk. It took about 10 minutes for a random employee to come up and ask who I was there to see which was weird. The interview went really well, we spoke for about 90 minutes and it was very back and forth and I was impressed. We ended the conversation with him saying they’d reach out to me by the next Wednesday with an update.
So I wait and Wednesday goes by and no email or call. I had other interviews so I just let it go. I had already sent 2 thank you emails after the previous 2 interviews but didn’t this time because the interviewer concretely told me they’d reach out to me and I didn’t want to seem desperate.
The operations manager from interview 2 reaches out the following Monday saying they never heard from me and was I still interested. I mention that I was under the impression they’d reach out to me and must have been a misunderstanding but I’m still interested.
He then says the manager liked me but was irritated I was 10 minutes late (this really pissed me off). He tells me they want me to take a wonderlic test to continue and it’s just standard. At this point I’m a little irritated. I’ve already had 3 interviews and feel like that should be sufficient. I still do the monitored wonderlic test because if that’s whats standing between me and the job then fine. I breeze through the test and he tells me they’ll discuss the results and get back to me.
A few days later I get a text from him asking if I have a few minutes to speak. I hop on the video call thinking they’re about to offer me the position. He tells me they’re extremely impressed with the results of the test and now is the final step of the interview.
The last stage is he’s going to give me the contact info for everyone in the company and he wants me to take 2 weeks to call everyone and learn as much about the company as possible. Then I have to put together a presentation on why I would be an asset and good fit for the company. I’m supposed to give this presentation in front of the entire managing staff, all the VPs and the CEO. And there’s still a chance that even if I do this I won’t get the position.
I could barely get words out I was so stunned. The fucking hoops they wanted me to jump through we’re straight up disrespectful to my time. When the fuck do I have time to do a research project for you just to prove I’m good at the job? Did my 3 other interviews not do the trick? I understand now why the initial recruiter said they’re having a hard time finding candidates. They must think if a candidate is desperate enough to jump through hoops like that they can mistreat them as employees.
I promptly declined and when asked why I told them I didn’t have time for a 2 week unpaid project. Really wished I told them to fuck off.
The future is now, old man.