I had a 15-minute introductory call with the hiring manager, which provided a high-level overview of the role and company. The conversation was friendly and efficient. I mentioned my familiarity with companies like Sessions, which operate in a similar space using kitchens to launch food brands. This seemed to resonate well, as it indicated I understood their model. Professionally, I currently work in the food packaging industry and have direct experience with a wide range of customer segments—many of which overlap with Growth Kitchen’s own target audiences. I also work closely with Uber Eats and other hospitality partners, giving me deep insight into the industry from both a strategic and operational lens. Beyond work, I’m personally very passionate about hospitality and food culture, which makes roles like this particularly exciting. In terms of skills, I’m a full-stack marketer with strong experience across all digital and offline channels. I also have 10 years of formal design education and several years of practical design experience, combining creativity with analytical thinking. At my current role, I’ve led transformative marketing efforts—completely overhauling the website, introducing new email, SEO, and PPC strategies, migrating CRM platforms, designing all print assets, producing video content, and elevating overall brand performance. Given all this, I was genuinely surprised to be rejected after just the intro call with the generic response that they were moving forward with candidates with more “hospitality-specific marketing experience.” I’m unclear what more specific experience could have been expected, and it would’ve been fair to have a deeper conversation before drawing a conclusion. I’m still very curious to see who they ultimately hire—if the bar is higher than the breadth and depth of my own profile, they must be exceptional. Best of luck to them, but the decision-making process felt a bit reductive for a role that presumably values creativity, insight, and strategic thinking.