Both interviews with the recruiter and hiring manager went well. Both lasted about half an hr. I would say the interviews felt more casual than what I’ve experienced in the past. There’s the typical tell me about yourself, your skills, why you’re interested, etc. Not so much of the “what would you do in this situation” kind of deal. Communication, on the other hand, was a negative experience. After the first interview with the recruiter, I was informed that the hiring manager was going to be out of the office for the rest of the week. Therefore, the recruiter would get back to me on a date for the next interview with the hiring manager. A week went by, I heard nothing. I figured I would just follow up with an email in case I missed something on my end. The recruiter later called me (the same day), and we were able to schedule the second interview for the next day. I did the interview and felt like everything went well. The hiring manager talked more than I did. She spoke about the job and was even interested in maybe getting me to join another department that they had. Once we were wrapping things up, she informed me that I would hear back from them by the end of the week. Well, 3 weeks went by and I heard nothing. Not even a rejection. I decided to do another follow up with the recruiter, just to check. And then a few days later, no emails from the recruiter, but I got an automated rejection email from FIS. Lol.

This has been a long process compared to my past interview experiences. I’ve been in conversation with FIS since Sept’22. It was 4 rounds of interviews speaking with different members of my future team working up the chain of command. All conversations were your typical: “We reviewed your resume, tell me about yourself and what you’re looking for. Let me tell you about the role.” All were very pleasant, friendly, easy conversations focused on business and also getting to learn about me on a personal level. I found each conversation refreshing. Final conversation with my future manager was very hard hitting, but still a good conversation. I can tell that the team works very closely together and they all have certain personality traits and attributes they’re looking for in potential candidates. Future manager seems like he works hard and cares about making sure new hires fit in easily with his team, which is great! I think the process is difficult only because of how long it’s taken. I still haven’t been officially given an offer letter to negotiate salary. I was given a benefits package that looks amazing compared to my current company so I’m eager to see how salary negotiation goes. I think the state of the market, holidays, and waiting on Q4 earnings reports and possible turnover probably has something to do with the long wait period. I hope to have an official offer letter within a week or so. Excited to get started!