I applied online. I was contacted via email to set up a phone interview. It was a two part interview with the HR Manager and one of the Research Directors. It was a short overview about myself and the company and its position. It seemed to be quite positive, with the interviewers asking me if I was open to being considered for more than one position.
Afterwards, we set up an in person interview. They had asked when I would be free during X week, and I suggested a time. They then followed up asking me what times during the week I would be free, asking I choose more than one slot. Since my schedule was filling up with other obligations, I requested my original time and only that time. There was some back and forth via email, when HR finally revealed the interviewers might be a little late because of the train schedule. It seemed a little sloppy: why didn't anyone think to check and verify when the interviewers would be arriving?
On the day of the interview I was shown around the office and sat with one of the interviewers (who was local and had no such commute). We chatted about various topics, easing into the interview after getting to know each other a bit better. The other two interviewers arrived and we began the full interview.
We talked about the history of the company, the work that would be involved, some examples of work the employees would do, etc. They asked about my background, examples of previous experiences, what it was like to work at small and large law firms, how did I feel about speaking with clients over the phone, etc. It was a nice conversation, but I noticed one of the interviewers had a tendency to talk over the other two. I don't think it was intentional and he just didn't notice he was doing it. But it was a red flag for me: that it kept happening led me to think he'd do the same for the new hires and employees.
At the end we discussed that all applicants would have to participate in a test assessment, to see how we worked out projects, our approach, etc. I set up a time and left. Overall I felt wishy washy about the job. I just didn't feel enthusiastic about the job after the interview but decided to let it play out.
On the appointed time and day of the test, I had not received any email. After about 30 or so minutes I sent an email along to one of the people I had spoken to during both interviews since I had no idea who else to contact. He apologized and said he had been in a meeting, but he would send it right away. Uh...you couldn't have had someone else send it? Or set up an auto-send?
I completed the task and sent it back, although now I felt even less enthusiastic. For what is supposed to be a company that goes over people's/company's backgrounds with a fine-tooth comb, this lack of attention to detail in two separate occasions by two different people was not a good reflection. But again I saw no reason to just wait and see what happened.
I was rejected. I admit to being a little surprised and wonder if there was something missing in my application, interview or the test. I fully realize they might have had an amazing group of applications (the location of the office means they would probably find a lot of people with very similar backgrounds and experiences to mine) so maybe it was just a numbers game.