European Medical Journal Project Manager interview questions

At every stage of this application something was off. First part was a 30-min screening interview with the internal recruiter which was straightforward (albeit he was 5 minutes late and then had to ask me his final questions via email because he had to abruptly end the interview because got kicked out of the room he was using). I was selected for the next interview which I was told would be a “competency” interview with the hiring managers in person but for which I received 2 conflicting emails about the time and date which they apologised for after I pointed this out. On the day I was told to give my name at Reception but when I got there reception told me they hadn’t been told anything and 5 minutes into what should have been the start time was only when someone finally came down for me. And as the “Competency” interview progressed I realised this was not competency-based at all but was culture-based. In a competency interview you expect questions such as “Can you tell me about a time you did A? “What would you do in scenario B?” “Do you have experience in C?” The questions I was asked were “What are your 3 biggest weaknesses?” “What are 3 words someone would use to describe you?” “Tell me about your CV” “Why do you want to leave your current job?” “What do you like to do in your personal life?” “Are you interviewing anywhere else?” I was informed it would be the third interview that would be culture-based but it just appeared the hiring managers were using the second interview as a “vibe check” to bypass that. Something made clear when one of the managers said “no experience is really needed as everything can be taught on the job”, and after seeing the testimonials of former employees you can get an idea of the “vibe” they are looking for. But to top it all off I was informed I was unsuccessful not once but twice by email and then a phone call with one of the internal recruiters on the phone not realising I had already been informed of the decision by her colleague, but that she would give me my feedback within 24hrs. 1 week later I still have nothing. So my feedback is there is a definite communication issue in the recruiting team which made the process disorderly, and the hiring managers appear to have their own prerogative on how they’ll conduct the interview in-contrast to the process candidates are told to prepare on. Something future candidates should be prepared for.