At the beginning, the recruitment process appeared to be standard and feedback came quickly then it slowed down, it was difficult to have any feedback or to even know whether the process was still active. Overall, it took almost 9 months to end up in disappointment.
- First round with HR, no surprise here
- Second interview was to cover my technical skills with a director and a senior consultant
- Third interview was with a VP
That part of the process took around 1 month following which I have received positive feedback, radio silence for a month following that point to then be recontacted and schedule an interview with the CEO during which the feedback was also positive and where he mentioned that I should receive an offer within a week of that interview.
After almost 1 month of waiting, I was told that in the end I will not receive an offer until they find a suitable project for me.
- The next interview is scheduled with another VP which was also positive from the received feedback.
- Again, radio silence for several weeks following what I decided to resume my active search for another role. I am then invited to have a lunch interview with the CEO. I came up with a clear plan of action should I be offered the role
- I have finally received an offer though ended up being very disappointed with it and wondered whether the offer was serious. I did the interview for a director position; they offered me a Senior Consultant role for which I would have had to accept a pay cut and also step down from my current leadership position which doesn't make sense.
- I have tried to negotiate the terms of the offer; again, a promise has been received that I would hear back within a week. I have decided to gently give a cut-off date as I felt it was fair to reach a conclusion after that many months. They didn't even take the pain to reply to my last email and never updated their offer.
Overall, I have spent close to 9 months in that process and found the outcome disappointing, unprofessional and somehow disrespectful; not even acknowledging or answering an email to say 'no, we won't change the offer' for someone who put time and energy in such a lengthy process doesn't send a great message about the organisation.