I should have taken the negative reviews about their interview process seriously to save myself the time, resources, and effort I put into the interview process. The whole interview process was very unorganized and lacked communication.
I applied online, and didn't get a response until 3 weeks later. It was an invite to speak with a recruiter via phone.
The initial phone interview should have been a red flag for me not to proceed further because it was clear that the recruiter did not review my resume, nor did he allow for me to ask questions at the end of the call. I had to ask questions while he grilled me about my personality rather than my experience. He also did not know much about the role; he had claimed it was "new" and didn't have much information about it, the team, if it had any direct reports, pay range, etc.
I didn't hear back from him for another 2 weeks, and when I received the email, it was for an in-person interview with the CMO and (surprise) Marketing Manager - which I was not aware of since the recruiter did not mention that there was a marketing manager that the VP, Marketing candidate would need to interview with. Instead of asking for my availability, the company decided to schedule me ahead of time for a specific date/time. Thankfully, I was available at the time.
The actual in-person interview process was not a positive experience at all. The marketing manager was not aware that she would report into the VP, Marketing role. (Another red flag since it is clear that the CMO did not communicate this to her or the recruiter I originally spoke with on the phone.) The actual interview with the CMO was very unpleasant as he was clearly distracted by his phone, and he kept on answering texts and took SEVERAL phone calls during the interview all the while feigning apologies for taking the calls. The way he spoke to the people he had the calls with (and how they spoke with him in return) was highly unprofessional (he yelled, cursed, etc.)
I left the interview feeling very disgusted and disappointed that I wasted my time, so to all prospects interested in pursing a role within this company - take heed to all the negative reviews about it. It's clear that the CMO has little-to-no respect for others, and does not communicate clearly and properly to others within the company.