The interview process started off very positively. I was contacted the same day I applied, quickly scheduled for a screening call, and then brought in for an in-person interview the following week. The in-person interview itself actually went really well at first. The interviewer was friendly, asked thoughtful questions, and the conversation flowed naturally enough that our scheduled 45-minute interview lasted nearly an hour and a half. I left feeling like it had been a strong interview overall. However, toward the end, I asked a clarifying question about office hours for the salaried role. I simply wanted to understand expectations, whether there were set office hours or if there was flexibility if work was completed early. The entire tone of the interview shifted after that question. The interviewer immediately went into how busy the role is, how she personally always stays late. It felt like my question was interpreted as me not wanting to work hard, when in reality I was only trying to understand the company’s expectations and policies. I left feeling a bit confused but overall still felt it was very strong. After that, communication completely stopped for about two weeks. Then I unexpectedly received a phone call from an executive at the company saying he had seen my application and thought I would be a great fit for their training role. I was confused and explained that I had already interviewed with the company. He seemed embarrassed and apologized while searching for my interview notes. Once he found them, he immediately started asking whether I understood the role was fully in-person and that they unfortunately could not offer hybrid work. Again, I clarified that I had already discussed this in my interview and had no issue working onsite five days a week. He seemed pleased with my answer and said he would speak with the manager about our conversation. The next day, I received an automated rejection email. Now, I completely understand not moving forward with a candidate for reasons such as experience, fit, or interview performance. However, this experience honestly left me feeling like I was effectively blacklisted over a very normal clarification question. The reaction to a reasonable question about work expectations felt disproportionate and raised concerns for me about the company’s culture and work/life balance. The lack of internal communication between leadership and recruiting/interview teams was also surprising, especially given that an executive contacted me without realizing I had already completed the interview process. Lastly, the fact that this role has remained open for months afterward makes the experience feel even more telling. In the end, I feel I likely dodged a bullet.