For an organization that preaches equity in all aspects of its work, I am disappointed in CEP’s interview process stringing candidates along and acting like an exclusive club to get into. While I recognize it is a competitive job, I think that the organization should be more mindful about stringing folks along in the months-long interview process before rejecting them after they’ve put in hours of work and sacrificed their own time and money to prepare for the interviews. After playing phone tag with the hiring manager who canceled my phone screen the first time, I received notice that I’ve moved onto the 2-hour-long skills assessment phase. After spending 2 hours outside of my full-time job completing that, I was brought in for a 4-hours-long ordeal in-person to interview with different members of the team. I prepared tirelessly for this, had to purchase business casual clothes, and had to take the day off from my current job in order to be there. While it was clearly my mistake for assuming this, I was pretty certain this was a final phase as pretty much a formality given the sacrifices I made to be at the in-person interview. In other roles I’ve applied for, they only bring you in at the end to prove your capabilities and ensure you’re a strong fit. No one who interviewed me was particularly warm and didn’t really tell me about themselves or give me much time to answer questions. They berated me with question after question, but I know I answered them well and was qualified for the work. In each interview, I was only given about 5 minutes to ask questions, which felt one-sided and like I did not have the opportunity to interview them or have my needs met. One of the 2-person groups that interviewed me kept exchanging looks and laughs that made me feel like an outsider. It felt like I was being constantly tested to see if I fit into their exclusive club; the professional culture felt manufactured. I got no responses to the thank you emails I sent to each staff member after interviewing. After 2 weeks of radio silence, I had to follow up with them to find out that I did not get the position. For the length of time I put into applying for this role, it was unprofessional and rude to provide nothing but radio silence. For a nonprofit organization that preaches pay parity and equity in their culture and hiring practices, I think this was one of the most inaccessible jobs I’ve ever applied for or wasted my time on.