Travel Oregon has a company called Workplace Change doing the first two rounds of interviews. I was asked to do an initial interview and I spent a lot of time preparing, doing research, and thinking of questions to ask the interviewer. I was completely thrown off guard by the fact that I was asked the most generic questions ever. It was as if someone went online and searched "interview questions". I could have been interviewing for literally any job. Nothing actually pertained to writing, managing content, or creativity in general. On top of that, they couldn't answer any specific questions about the role, Travel Oregon, or the tourism and travel industry. The best interviews I've had have been conversational. This one left me feeling like I was being put through a system.

It took over a month to get through two interviews with outside recruiters. They were very pleasant, but after checking Glassdoor it looks like they’ve been interviewing for this position since February at least (with possibly hundreds of candidates) and still have not found anyone. It seems like the hiring manager is who’s holding the entire process up. I know I would have been great for the job. Just as I’m sure many people interviewed before me would have been just as competent. It’s not rocket science. After my second interview, it took them twice as long to get back to me than the original estimated timeline they gave. If you value your time, maybe don’t apply here. The questionnaire they gave at the end was a waste of time. And honestly, their original social media posts aren’t that great, and their website looks dated. The scenic photos are carrying the accounts. The whole process felt like they were looking for ways to improve the brand without hiring all the thinkers they were interviewing.