Please note that this organization has emailed me with threats to reveal my "full name" (aka doxxing) in the "permanent public realm" and destroy my professional reputation because of this rather perfunctory review. While I refuse to be bullied (and bullying is born out of self-deception), I did edit it. However, please note that this is a site specifically for discussing interviews, which are always subjective, though everything I've included is 100% truthful.
Out of all the interviews I've attended in my life, this was the most wholly unprofessional. It began with the woman who would've been my manager (we're not allowed to use names or titles) spending a good week offering effusive praise over my resume and cover letter, including how much we had in common. You'd think she was auditioning to be my best friend. The pay was atrocious, $20/hr (and I have fifteen years of grant writing experience), but I did seem to fit the role, including their supposed interest in hiring people with "lived experience," which I had in spades. Then came the interview. I spent days studying their website, despite the content being almost unreadable, and went to my interview relaxed and confident; judging from every way this woman acted, I already had the job and just had to be a breathing person. The would-be boss introduced me to the whole team, but seemed confused when I mentioned material I'd gathered from their website, including their supposed most important philosophies. I met someone in another position (who hadn't read my resume, cover letter, or writing samples), and the conversation grew a little tense, as he was concerned that I'd freelanced too long to work in an office. I held my own, though, and felt my responses were reassuring - despite the fact that this was an ENTRY LEVEL JOB, so prior experience in an office shouldn't be relevant. Here's the kicker - before I left, the almost-my-boss handed me a huge packet of grants to compare. No way will I be rejected, I thought. Not only did she tell me I was the perfect candidate, she gave me material to discuss for the next interview! And kept smiling at me! I went home, read and notated four hours of grants overnight. That's work that I would've billed a client. And her grant writing - it was extremely dry and error-ridden. I was a little worried about working under her considering the state of her own writing. I wrote a thank you letter, including discussion of the paperwork, with a request for more information (she hadn't given me the grant application). Then, radio silence. I went nuts over the weekend, continuing into the week, until I finally wrote her again. Once prompted twice, she sent me a rejection letter. So, this place - which works with people trying to find jobs and struggling with mental illness - did everything in their power to convince me there was no way I didn't have the job, gave me four hours of homework, then attempted to ghost me [and then threatened to destroy my reputation for posting this interview review]. After this woman spent nearly two weeks buttering me up to the position and giving me homework only to cut me down with no explanation, I'm understandably crushed. This is not an organization that lives by their values. I'm still debating invoicing them for those four hours.
