The interview process with the company started on a positive note, with the first interview being structured, professional, and clearly focused on my background and commercial experience.
However, the second interview with the Head of Strategy & Sales raised concerns regarding both the understanding of the Greek market and the overall interview approach for a market-entry role.
A key point of friction was a question asking for specific professional contacts in Greece (lawyers, engineers, developers, banks, etc.). The expectation to disclose named individuals or networks was not accompanied by any clear explanation of how this information would be used. From my perspective, this also raised confidentiality and data protection considerations (GDPR), particularly at an early-stage interview. I clarified that my CV reflects my relevant experience and that sharing private contact data is not appropriate at this stage of the process.
The response to this was negative, and the interview was brought to a quick conclusion with the feedback that I was not a “fit” for the role, without further exploration of my track record, achievements, or approach to business development and partnership building.
This created the impression that the evaluation leaned heavily on immediate access to personal networks rather than a structured assessment of capability in market entry, partner acquisition, and pipeline development — all of which are critical for a role responsible for launching a new market from scratch.
Given that the company does not currently have a physical presence in Greece and the role is effectively about building the market from the ground up, a more structured discussion around go-to-market strategy, partnership development methodology, and systematic pipeline building would have been expected, rather than an emphasis on specific personal contacts.
Overall, the experience was mixed: the first stage was professional and well-run, while the second stage felt inconsistent in evaluation criteria and somewhat misaligned with the realities of structured market development and business expansion.