I recently had an interview with InContext Solutions that gave me a sour taste. My first interaction was with the HR representative who did seem older. She first spoke about how she had 96 applicants and I was one of five candidates selected for interviews, making it seem like I should feel special. From the onset, the HR representative seemed more interested in boasting about the company than engaging in a meaningful dialogue. She spent almost our entire time highlighting how "great" InContext is. For example, she proudly mentioned that they had a transgender person speak to the team for Pride Month. She detailed InContext's "generous" vacation package of 3 weeks. She emphasized the people and how the company feels like a "family" (major red flag). She contradicted herself by stating their commitment to work-life balance but hinted at fluctuating work hours and the necessity of attending meetings. It all felt self-centered and overly rehearsed. Our conversation was tense and uncomfortable as if she had already decided she didn't like me for reasons I didn't understand. By the time she finished, most of the questions I had prepared about the company (because I was speaking with HR) were answered. However, when I did ask how work-life balance is further promoted for remote employees, her response was, "I think I already answered that." As a result, I pivoted to asking more general questions about the roles itself. Shockingly, she admitted she didn't know the general details of the role (another red flag) and directed me to ask the hiring manager. For example, the job description stated all quantitative tasks and I wanted to know if the job included qualitative tasks. She couldn't answer. I wasn't expecting her to know specific details like the types of quantitative and qualitative methods used. I also asked about a typical project workload or how many projects the company takes on simultaneously. She couldn't answer. I was growing frustrated, so we ended the conversation 8 minutes early. Before we ended, she had said she would contact me early the next week. By Wednesday, I received no response, which I thought meant I was not selected to move to the next round. However, I wanted to hold her to her promise of letting me know. I had to reach out to her on Thursday, more than a week after the initial interview, and she responded that they had chosen other candidates. More than 6 weeks later, the job posting remained active on their website, indicating either a forgotten post (the only post) or an impossibly picky and self-centered hiring process. This interview had several red flags about the company's hiring practices and culture. The excessive self-praise, lack of meaningful engagement and knowledge, and poor communication led to a negative experience, and honestly feel now like I dodged what appears to be a very strange company.