I was actually contacted by their recruiter on LinkedIn following a referral. We set a time to speak and the recruiter called me 10 minutes late, explaining a previous meeting overran.
After this they set a face-to-face remote interview.
The recruiter turned up nearly 20 mins late and didn't message or call me to let me know they were having technical issues.
I was left wondering if the problem was on my side, and tried to call and email with no initial response. I eventually received an email (16 minutes past the agreed meeting time) in response to the second one I sent, having tried a number of things and realised the problem was on their end, which is ironic, as in the preparation materials, they made a point of saying to test the system ahead of time to make sure it was working.
They insisted on using Webex despite the issues and poor quality and could not see my video. They sent me on a bit of a chase to fix it unsuccessfully, despite me saying a few times it was not working.
Eventually they agreed to use Microsoft Teams, but I was required to set up the meeting.
These technical issues, coupled with the silent delay at the start do not create an optimum environment for a candidate to perform. These factors are indicative of a lack professionalism and respect for the candidate.
Having gone through all that, when we started in the process, they interrupted my first answer to give me feedback about using bullet points and the power of 3 when making my points.
I continued to answer trying to implement what was said, but their video was off and they were silent making notes which made me believe the call had been interrupted again.
We arrived at the end of the scheduled time and given the delay at the start we were not able to get through a role play I had prepared to do. I was not asked if I would have minded going over the scheduled time to finish all that had been prepared. The recruiter said instead I would have the chance to do that at another opportunity, later in the week.
I was then told over email that they had already made their mind up and it was not worth continuing with the process.
It was disappointing to have prepared for a role play and not given the opportunity to perform it, and not to have been given a fair chance when the rocky start was not my fault.
The feedback I received on the email was puzzling. As an experienced candidate who was referred by one of their associates for the very thing they said I was lacking.
I appreciate it was not a fit, but the disregard with which I was treated during and after the process made for a very poor candidate experience.