Hi! I hope this review will help someone.
Few months ago I applied for a role at Clariness. It seemed really interesting to me, and it was also part-time, which actually surprised me a little, since for a Legal Counsel role full-time presence is usually expected. Overall, the company culture and reviews looked very positive, and I was excited to give it a try.
I was invited to an interview with a recruiter, who gave me a good impression, and I thought my CV and experience looked promising as well. The interview went well, we had a nice conversation, and then I waited for feedback.
A few days later, I received a rejection email with a generic response. However, at the end of the email, I noticed the recruiter’s internal comments that had been accidentally included, and they contained incorrect information about me as a candidate.
Of course, I decided to act and emailed them to say that, while the rejection itself was disappointing, they should at least check the email before sending it out.
I also reached out to someone from leadership via LinkedIn, not out of any desire for revenge, but because the situation was extremely frustrating. (I won’t disclose any other actions I took).
After that, they apologized, which I honestly didn’t need, and I was invited to a second interview.
The interview lasted about an hour and started again with apologies and an explanation that it had been a human mistake. Personally, I didn’t need the reason, I was simply a candidate looking for a job.
As the interview continued, the hiring manager started asking me questions about data privacy topics and, most importantly, kept coming back to the email situation, asking related questions about how I would react and trying to assess how I would fit into the company culture.
While I could have had the chance to talk about my abilities, negotiation skills, achievements, and so on, the interview turned more into something that felt like an exam.
When I started asking questions, and I usually prepare some tricky ones, the hiring manager became less direct and said that certain information was confidential. Well.
In the end, I was rejected of course. I kindly asked for feedback so I could prepare better for future interviews, but the response was that the feedback was positive overall. Well, then I do have one question — why not hire me?
So, this review is not meant as a rant or to say anything bad. I’m simply stating the facts. It is more about thinking twice about how you handle such situations and about company culture, especially when someone is just trying to defend themselves.
I won’t wish anything to this company. But I hope this review helps someone.