The process, in my opinion, was long and drawn out. It took over two months from the initial notification that I was being asked to interview through to the final decision email. There were three rounds of interviews. The first was a screening with HR. Unfortunately, HR was completely disorganized, unprofessional, and unable to provide timely responses. My initial interview was canceled just 10 minutes before it was scheduled to begin. I quickly rescheduled for the next day, and the screening went ahead as planned. Overall, it went well, very basic, more of a ‘get to know you’ conversation and an overview of the company. I sent a thank you email immediately afterward.
Within the following week, I was invited to a second round of Zoom interviews with a panel of supervisors. This step required several days of preparation. The interview consisted of clinical questions from two supervisors, and it felt like I was being grilled for over an hour. While they were polite, I wouldn’t describe them as enthusiastic or particularly warm. That said, I was extremely well-prepared, and I feel it couldn’t have gone any better. I again sent a thank you email immediately after. No response from either supervisor.
Two weeks later, I was contacted for a third and final interview, this time with the director of the entire program. I spent many hours preparing for potential advanced questions. The director was relatively new to the role, pleasant enough, but noticeably unprofessional in appearance. She wore a wrinkled t-shirt and, at one point, had her hands behind her head as if lounging during the interview. I tried to assume that maybe the company values a relaxed atmosphere. The interview, which took place on a Friday morning, lasted less than 30 minutes. I was barely able to speak. The director dominated the conversation, asked very little about my background or qualifications, and when I asked if she’d like me to elaborate on anything to assist in the decision-making process, she replied that she trusted her supervisors’ opinions and didn’t need to ask anything further. That moment struck me as a red flag. Still, I assumed they had likely already decided and just needed to confirm a fit. Despite the odd tone of the interview, I handled it the best I could.
Before signing off, the director told me, word for word, “I do not believe in making people wait to hear our decision. Expect to hear back later today or at the very latest, early next week.” I sent another thank you email immediately after and expected to hear something shortly. No response to my thank you email.
By Tuesday night the following week, I had not heard anything, not even an acknowledgment of my thank you email. I sent a follow-up to HR and immediately received an auto-response stating that they would be out of the office for over a month, which I assumed must have been a mistake. After waiting several days without any reply, I sent another follow-up on Friday, this time copying the director and HR. A second auto-reply came in but now from the director. Days continued to pass without any response from either of them.
Almost a week later, I finally received a vague email from HR stating they were still making a decision and would update me in another week or so. At that point, I assumed I was still being seriously considered, they would not string me along this long if I wasn't. After another week and a half, I received a short, poorly written email informing me that I had not been selected. There was no feedback, no apology for the delay, and no acknowledgment of the lack of communication throughout the process.
Needless to say, I feel I dodged a bullet with this company. I would strongly advise others to avoid applying. The lack of professionalism, transparency, and respect for candidates’ time was unacceptable. It was a complete waste of time and resources, and shame on them for failing to uphold basic standards of communication and courtesy.
