A recruiter found me on LinkedIn and reached out.
Half hour call with the recruiter went well. She mentioned that the majority of their employees have advanced degrees and then said that it was OK that I did not because my years of experience compensate for lack of education (her words not mine). Red flag #1.
A few days later received an invite at 8 pm for an 8 am meeting the next morning with the hiring manager. Red flag #2
The hiring manager never turned their camera on (red flag #3) and was obviously in the car and an elevator. Overall the discussion went well, though odd since it was a Teams meeting and I was the only one with my camera on.
The hiring manager informed me they would be bringing me on as a Manager, but that I would be placed on the track for senior management. And that once you are a senior manager you are expected to generate 1-2 million dollars of unique revenue stream per year (red flag #4). I wasn't applying for a sales job, but a PM job.
That same day I received a meeting invite for a 'lunch meeting' with the team. Each time I spoke with people they mentioned several times that the discussions were not interviews, just meet and greets.
Went to the Teams 'lunch meeting' and everyone had their cameras on. Lasted half an hour. They just wanted to get to know me, my work history, and why I wanted the position. They were lovely. So lovely I started doubting the red flags and decided to continue to pursue the position.
A week later I received an email, with my name spelled incorrectly (red flag #5), inviting me to an "interview". I was instructed to plan for at least 4 hours, and to prepare a 45 minute presentation on my graduate research project. They knew that I did not have a graduate degree as they pointed out in the first phone call that they would overlook that in my case due to my extensive work history. The interview format was geared to someone right out of a research graduate program. They didn't even bother to tailor the interview format to the individual (red flag #6).
At this point, I determined that I would be just another cog in the wheel at this organization. There was no work-life balance. And I was not interested in generating sales revenue. Plus I felt that a 45-minute presentation for a PM role was over the top. I also thought that with their emphasis on advanced degrees, it would not be a supportive environment for me.
I sent them an email declining the interview and thanking them for the opportunity.
Two days later I received a rejection letter telling me that my work experience and education did not meet what they were looking for in the role. They rejected me after I declined the interview. The entire experience was so unprofessional and really left me with the impression that they do not care about the individual at all. Definitely not the place for me.