This was one of the most bizarre interview experiences I've ever had in the later stages. Long story short: multiple miscommunications about an incoming offer drawn out over a month, texts from a member of the hiring team ensuring an offer was incoming, last minute withdrawal, and some suspicion of homophobia (they were sued a few years ago for workplace discrimination).
I interviewed for a position once in 2019 with IXL and made it to the final stage, but wasn't chosen. I'm sure I wasn't the right fit at the time and didn't think anything of it. But my experience in December 2022 was unconventional, and I'd warn any friends about applying.
The beginning went as expected. I had a HR call, followed by a zoom call with a member of the hiring team, multi-hour panel interview, and a call with a decider on the corporate level of sales (we can’t include specific titles). At the panel interview I was told that if I moved to the call, I had already been selected and it was a final "rubber stamp" conversation with Corporate leadership. My interactions with the other staff were great and I was excited when they scheduled my final call. Both management level interviewers were very enthusiastic, one manager had said that if for some reason I wasn't selected for this role they had several other in mind for me. I was expecting a verbal offer on the call, but the person called me 15 minutes late for our 30 minute call, told me that they were in a parking garage about to get on a flight, hadn't looked at my resume and didn't know which position I was applying for. I did my best to catch them up in the 10 minutes they gave me. No verbal offer was made, but I didn't get the impression that there was a "no." It was an ok conversation - certainly no red flags that would warrant overriding the recommendation of both the managers I interviewed with. This was at the beginning of December. I spoke briefly with HR again after the call to go over some questions about benefits. They continued to be very thoughtful in emailing me every few days with timeline updates (initially, I was supposed to get word in two days). I had made it clear I wanted to give two weeks notice and have the opportunity to visit family over the holidays before starting in January. They said it wouldn't be a problem, but then drew out a decision for the rest of the month up until the 22nd of December, apologizing for the delay every few days because the corporate level employee was out of the country. At one point the hiring manager started texting me, reassuring me that the following morning I would have a response and that offers were on their desk awaiting a final signature. It was clear at every stage that they didn't want me to go anywhere and were on the cusp of a formal offer. The next morning I received a rejection letter, and texted the hiring manager asking if there had been a mistake. They had just about guaranteed me the job the night before and had reached out themselves. I wasn't given any explanation beyond "a decision was made by someone above me." Thank goodness I didn't give notice at my other job. I racked my brain with what had happened. But then I saw that my LinkedIn had been viewed right before the rejection. I wasn't sure what could have been on my resume that would have resulted in a change of mind, but I did know that I had a few places in my previous work where I had served as a Gay Straight Alliance sponsor, along with two other similar volunteer and work experiences. I didn't include these on the resume I submitted, because I didn't want to appear too political. Some friends later pulled up a case where IXL was sued for discriminating against a trans employee. Likewise there are reviews on here about people supposedly being targeted for layoffs because they had marriage equality signs up when IXL removed same-gender couples from questions. I hate to pull the discrimination card, but I literally cannot think of a single reason why management was so enthusiastic and why there would be a sudden shift. I thought nothing of the first time I wasn't picked in 2019, but my gut tells me that something unfair happened here. It also appears the corporate level employee engaged in some unethical business practices in poaching some of his salesmen from his previous company that made the news. In the end, I feel relieved I didn't end up there, and managed to find a much better opportunity a month later.
