This was a long and unnecessarily complex process with negative experience and outcome. After being referred to the organization as an "outside of the box" candidate - the hiring manager agreed to start the interview process. I had an interview with an HR person - for cultural fit then an initial interview with the hiring manager. At this point, there was no communications for 3 weeks. I sent two follow up notes to the hiring manager. After the second - which was at the 2.5 week point, I received contact. At which point, my HR contact at Ellucian had told me that I was scheduled for 3 consecutive interviews. The two previous interviews were phone calls. These three scheduled interviews were via Zoom/Video Conference. The first interview with the a Director in the department went well. She was open minded and able to see how my skills and experience would make a difference. The second interview was with another Director was significantly tougher. His review of my resume and his questioning made it very clear to me that he wanted someone with experience in the position and in this particular field despite my skills and experiences. It appeared his mind was made up before the interview. The third interview cancelled 45 minutes prior to the start. Last minute cancellations happened not once, but twice. Once the day of the interview and the second cancellation occurred a week later. That seemed unusual to me. There was no follow up or direct communication afterwards.
This is where it got bad. After following up with each interviewer - which happened to be the members of the hiring managers team - the goal was to have me interview with each team member of the hiring managers team, then the corresponding leader of a parallel team, one member of that parallel team, then a final interview with the hiring manager. I was scheduled for 8 interviews for a "Manager" level position that was not actually responsible for managing anyone and was a mid-level employee. It should not take 8 interviews for a mid-level employee. It makes me wonder if the hiring manager has an idea of how to hire someone quickly for a position that had been (and still is vacant as of this review) vacant for over 8 months. The hiring manager claimed that she needed and needs immediate help but this persons actions show otherwise.
After the interview with the second Director, the process had gone dead. My candidacy was dead. Unbeknownst to myself until 5.5 weeks later. After multiple contact attempts with no response to both HR and directly to the hiring manager, I let my referral know that I had NOT received any response at all from Ellucian after 4 interviews and several weeks passing. Within 15 minutes, I was informed by the hiring manager directly via phone that I was out of consideration as a candidate because I did not have the experience required for the position - despite being told that they were open to a candidate with the requisite skill sets but not necessarily the experience requirements. The decision maker (DM) let me know that they changed their mind on this after my interviews with the team. The DM had let me know that she thought the HR department would be handling my dismissal from the process, but the HR department let me know that they were unaware of the DMs decision. The left foot didn't know what the right foot was doing, apparently.
The DM completely blamed my HR contact, threw them under the bus and did not take any responsibility for the lack of communication from Ellucian. This person took ZERO responsibility for the lack of communication. My dismissal as a candidate was confirmed via voicemail and the live call which took place roughly an hour later, prompted by my referral letting me know that they had contacted the DM and HR about not being contacted for 5.5 weeks. The DM was clumsy and embarrassed on the call. She fumbled through her explanation and it was clear that she was caught off guard in this situation.
The lack of ownership by anyone at Ellucian in the interview process is unacceptable and unprofessional. Approach with caution.
