The first interview was over zoom because I lived across the country and would be moving to Seattle soon. It went great! They asked me basic interview questions and some knowledge check questions. I made it clear to them I wasn’t an expert in SEO, but was a fast learner. This being a JUNIOR position. So then they ask me to fly from DC to Seattle to interview in person with my own money. They were like “we really prefer for candidates to be in person.” My first interview went so well I didn’t want to hurt my chances so I invested in myself and went. From the minute I got to the second interview I knew I’d made a mistake. They offered me water and I was like yes please because it was a hot summer day and I was wearing long sleeves to cover my tattoos. The guy looked at me like I was crazy. He then went to get me a literal glass of water. Anyway, in the interview the guy tells me they’re looking for someone who is more of a SENIOR with SEO for this JUNIOR role. I almost cried in the interview. I finished strong for a junior’s interview. So they knew I wasn’t a senior or an expert but they had me drop $1,000 on a trip to visit their office to get rejected weeks later.