I applied for an Associate Manager role in early January. Initial contact for a phone interview came a couple of weeks later, and the HR screening itself was professional and straightforward. However, communication throughout the process was inconsistent. After the initial phone interview, I was advised that I would hear back early the following week. When that timeframe passed without an update, I followed up by email but did not receive a response. I was then contacted at short notice ( 2 weeks later) and asked to attend a next-day interview with only 24 hours’ notice. The second interview itself felt informal and largely unstructured. While leadership and commercial capability were discussed, the format lacked clarity and direction. There were frequent interruptions and overlapping questions from the panel, which at times felt more like a rapid-fire exchange than a structured behavioural interview. This made it difficult to fully articulate responses or understand how answers were being evaluated. After the second interview, I was advised that an outcome would be communicated by the weekend or early the following week. When that timeframe passed without contact, I made a phone call to withdraw my application given the experience to that point; however, the call went unanswered and was not returned. Overall, the interview style and recruitment process lacked structure, consistency, and basic follow-through. While the role itself appeared interesting, the process did not reflect a well-coordinated or candidate-focused approach. Even brief holding updates and clearer structure during interviews would have significantly improved the experience.