I applied online. The same week, I received an invitation to complete a VIDEO INTERVIEW. I dressed up and I completed the video interview as instructed. I have done them many times before, so it was not a problem.
A few days later, I received an email from a "corporate recruiter" to schedule a PHONE INTERVIEW. That's when things went downhill. He sent me a link to a scheduling tool that gave me a list of days/times to choose from. I chose one. Immediately after that, he sent a CURT email stating that I didn't select a time/date that was good for him. It turned out that I read the invitation too fast, and I missed the part where he said that he would not be available the following day. I wrote him back and acknowledged that it was my error, but I also politely stated that I was not accustomed to scheduling tools that provided buttons for unavailable time slots. In other words, I acknowledged my error, but I also politely implied that perhaps it would be helpful not to send a link with slots that don't work for him. I have used those types of tools many times before. You can fix it where you aren't sending people unavailable time slots.
Well, I guess Mr. Corporate Recruiter didn't like that. Because when he called me for the phone interview, he told me that I would not be moving forward. LOL!!! But first he asked me a series of questions that are designed to knock me out of the process. That didn't work, because I read the job posting to make sure that I qualified for the job. After all that, he ended up giving me a phony reason about my 9 years of call center experience not being recent enough. But that could have been determined from my resume when I first applied.
I didn't argue with him, because I knew what it was all about. I very politely thanked him for calling and wished him a wonderful day. There is no shortage of call center jobs, so I wasn't going to let that bitter bean bring me down. When he sent me that rude email, I had serious doubts about the culture of that company anyway. I worked in HR and talent acquisition for 11 years. Recruiters who actually like what they do don't act like this guy. He seems like he hates his job. And he seems to hate people in general, which is sad. It's sad for him. It's sad for applicants. And it's sad for the company that he works for.