I was initially reached out to on LinkedIn by a recruiter and loved the mission, so I agreed to the initial call where I felt the role would be a great fit for my combined inbound and outbound sales and full cycle closing experience. I made it through the entire process which included an initial screening, a take home assignment, a mock call and a behavioral interview. Following that was a 15 minute chat with the sales director and reference check. Up until the final round, the feedback was overly positive and seemed like a great fit on both ends. So once I was set to chat with the director I was shocked at how rushed and cold she seemed, it was a complete 180 from the energy I had received up until that point. Meaning when she joined there was no rapport, no thanks for joining, simply a “hey, tell me bout your experience!” I cracked it up to being a leader and having a busy schedule, but now I can’t help but wonder if decisions had already been made at that point. To me, why bother calling references if you’re not prepared to offer the role? It’s a waste of the candidates and references time if you’re not simply confirming what you’ve already seen. I was granted a phone call to be let known I was not being offered, however was told all feedback was confidential to protect those involved in the decision, but the floor was opened to me to provide feedback for them. Interesting. Each candidate should be treated with respect and care and I feel that should be even more true when you’re not extending an offer, let them know where than can improve whether that be in the resume, interview, or even if they should reach out to references that better serve them. It’s a little weak to hind behind “policy” when you’ve spent the whole interview process harping on how important it is to be coachable and be open to feedback.