The first two stages were smooth, with interviewers who were warm and engaging, and the scope of the role sounded genuinely interesting. The organisation’s mission is strong and clearly meaningful, which initially made the opportunity appealing. However, the final interview round fell flat. It lacked energy and felt rushed, as if the interviewers just wanted to get through it. There was noticeably less warmth or enthusiasm compared to earlier stages. After the interview, I had to follow up just to get a decision, otherwise, it seemed I wouldn’t have heard anything back. The experience left me with the sense that while the company’s purpose is commendable, the hiring process could be improved to better reflect those values and attract strong talent. The salary was on the lower end as well (£37,000) for such role.

I applied via Indeed earlier on in April and then a couple of days later received an email asking if I could send over my cover letter so my application could be considered, so I reapplied by sending both my cv and cover letter for the role. I promptly received an email acknowledging that it had been received and they were now in the process of reviewing all applications for the role. After the May bank holiday weekend I received an email on Tuesday 7th May asking if I were free to have a 15 minute call with two members of the team the next day on Wedneday 8th although this was at short notice I agreed and on Wednesday 8th I had my initial screening call. The interviewers were pleasant and I was able to explain my work history and how it related to the role. At the end of the screening call I was told that the recruiter would be in touch about next steps. Two days later I received another email inviting me to a second interview with the same people I had met previouslly only this time it would involved a task and this needed to be submitted by 9am on Monday 13th May. I did feel that given that the presentatiion needed to be 10 minutes long a little more time would have been appreciated but this was not given as the recruiter said they wanted to be fairt to all candidates. I submitted the presentation on Sunday evening and on Tuesday had my second interview where I presented to the two interviewers I met previously. The interview was intense but one of the interviewers did acknowledge the short about of time I was given to complete the task and thanked me for it. I also received a couple of positive comments on my presentations which highlighted my attention to detail. After I presented my work I was then asked a series of situatution based questions which I tried to relate directly to my previouse roles and experience. At the end of the interview I was told that someone would be in touch to let me know the outcome before the end of the week. I haven't heard anything which is extremely disappointing given the amount of time I spent on interviewing with them as well as the presentation task I had to submit with no flexibility given to me.