Hours of written assignments, typing tests, and multiple interview rounds. Followed by a question about how many total years I have been working. Ask me how old I am without asking me.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How many total years have you been working (i.e., so we can discriminate against you based on your age.)
I applied online. I interviewed at Together Light Incorporated (Manila, Manila)
Interview
Pros:
The initial discussions were engaging. The organisation strongly emphasises its core values, specifically claiming to value "honesty," being "pragmatic," and expecting "straightforward answers" from its team. The vision for the Manila operations initially seemed promising for a senior leader with extensive operational experience.
Cons:
Unfortunately, their internal hiring practices completely contradict their stated core values of honesty and straightforwardness. Candidates are required to navigate a rigorous, multi-stage hiring process. This involves completing written assessments prior to the interview stage. However, despite following up after a week, document tracking showed they did not even open or review the assessment files I submitted.
This was followed by four rounds of interviews, then two face-to-face meetings. After investing significant time in this extensive process for a critical, senior executive role, the recruiter completely ghosted me. I followed up several times regarding the status of my application and received absolute silence. I eventually had to escalate the matter by emailing their Management directly just to get an honest, definitive answer. This lack of basic professional courtesy is entirely unacceptable.
Advice to Management:
If you publicly champion "honesty" and require candidates to be straightforward with "no beating around the bush", your Talent Acquisition team must uphold that exact same standard. Ghosting candidates—especially after rigorous, multi-stage interviews—severely damages your employer brand and signals a lack of internal operational integrity. Research consistently demonstrates that a poorly managed candidate experience, particularly unexplained communication delays and ghosting, significantly increases applicant resentment and harms an organisation's reputation in the broader labour market. Treat all candidates with basic respect, practice the honesty you preach, and close the loop professionally.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
We have two non-negotiable operational requirements: submitting a daily end-of-day progress report, and ensuring all calls and meetings are recorded. How do you feel about these policies?
I applied online. I interviewed at Together Light Incorporated in Mar 2026
Interview
1. Get an email that requests you complete a typing test and buy a specific headset.
2. Complete a very poor assessment for email marketing that must be done on a spreadsheet, despite it being an incorrect and inefficient format (I suspect this is to avoid AI solutions)
3. Book a recorded interview with a recruiter who requests you share screen to do a speed test and to do a language assessment ("For 2 minutes, write all the 4 letter words that start with S that you know").
4. They notify you that there will be an additional assessment and 3 more interviews plus requests for a reference letter.
The recruiter I talked to said she didn't know what the compensation was. Yet, she had no problem informing me that this is a contract position with no fixed hours where people are expected to use their personal computer and allow a software to take screenshots every 10 minutes. They also expect daily email updates and time tracking software updates.
The worst part is that THE RECRUITER couldn't answer what the turnover rate was. She also provided vague answers when I asked what employees dislike about the company and what challenges the company faces today.
Don't waste your time.
Interview questions [3]
Question 1
Why are you working in marketing instead of being a full time writer?