My interview experience with ABBA Voyage was disappointing from start to finish. I put significant effort into a bespoke application, including a tailored Voyage-esque micro-site showcasing my experience in People, L&D, and Culture. My recruiter was impressed and put me forward for the role, and eventually I was invited for a 30 minute 1st stage video interview with the hiring manager. The initial scheduled interview was postponed last minute for another day. I only received the invite to the rescheduled call minutes before it was due to begin, which already started things on the back foot. During our 30 minute conversation the hiring manager made no reference to my bespoke micro-site application, which I found strange given the clear amount of effort that had gone into making it. The entire conversation was cold and stilted, and I left the call already knowing it hadn’t gone well but not sure why. I followed up with a polite email to thank them for their time but received no response. Ultimately, I was rejected for the role. The feedback I received via my recruiter stated that this was partly because other candidates had more hospitality L&D experience, which I completely accept. However, they also claimed I was more focussed on ABBA than the role itself, despite me only mentioning it twice during our conversation (once in response to their question), as well as my tailored micro-site application of course. I have been in many interviews as both a candidate and hiring manager, and coached managers on recruitment best practice. In all my experience I have never known genuine enthusiasm for a company to be seen as a negative point against an applicant, and have always been sure to positively acknowledge if someone has made particular effort with their application, even if they’re not the right person for the role. A very odd experience all round.