Expectations Set During Recruitment Did Not Match the Reality - Unit Head Bar Ilan University Employee Review

I joined the organization with high expectations, but unfortunately my experience was very different from what was presented during the recruitment process. One of the first warning signs came during the contract stage, when there was an attempt to significantly reduce the salary that had been agreed upon throughout the hiring process and on which my decision to accept the role was based. Although the issue was eventually resolved, in hindsight I wish I had taken it more seriously. The position was presented—both during the interviews and in my employment agreement—as a strategic leadership role with responsibility for managing a team, shaping strategy, and driving meaningful impact. In practice, I experienced something quite different. I often felt excluded from key discussions and decisions, and members of my team were frequently approached directly and assigned work without my knowledge. This made it difficult to effectively manage, prioritize, support, or develop the team. The culture I experienced did not encourage initiative, independent thinking, or constructive challenge. Rather than empowering managers to lead change, I felt there was greater value placed on agreeing with existing decisions. Over time, this created an environment where making an impact felt much less important than “ fitting in.” Another concern was the noticeable turnover of experienced and highly capable managers during what felt like a relatively short period. While I cannot speak to each person’s reasons for leaving, seeing so many respected professionals depart raised concerns for me about leadership, employee retention, and organizational stability. It also appeared to me that decision-making was heavily concentrated around one senior manager, whose influence seemed exceptionally strong. From my perspective, this created an unhealthy dependency, reduced diversity of thought, and limited the organization’s ability to benefit from different viewpoints and capabilities. Many colleagues I interacted with appeared frustrated or disengaged. I also often sensed that employees were reluctant to voice concerns, challenge decisions, or express differing opinions openly. In my experience, this created a culture driven more by caution and fear than by trust, collaboration, or open dialogue. I also felt that initiative, dedication, and going above and beyond were not consistently recognized or rewarded. In my experience, alignment with senior leadership seemed to matter more than creativity, ownership, or delivering exceptional work. At the same time, I felt that senior leadership did not always have visibility into the significant effort many employees invested behind the scenes, leaving valuable contributions largely unrecognized. I also saw little investment in employee development, motivation, or recognition; positive reinforcement, career growth, appreciation, and employee engagement received very little attention, if at all. Over time, I believe this contributed to low morale and declining motivation. Finally, I was disappointed by the lack of transparency regarding workplace planning. I only learned after the fact that my team was expected to move into a densely packed office layout resembling a call center rather than a workspace designed for creative work. For a team expected to produce strategic and creative output, this felt inconsistent with the organization’s stated priorities. Overall, my experience did not align with the expectations that were set throughout the recruitment process. My advice to prospective employees would be to ask detailed questions about the actual scope of the role, reporting lines, decision-making processes, management style, team autonomy, and work environment before accepting an offer.