Quick timeline that would have been helpful for my interview process research:
June 15th applied, June 17th acknowledged application, July 12th Interview #1 phone screening with HR, July 15th Interview #2 phone interview with hiring manager, Aug 11th Interview #3 in person with hiring manager, Aug 26th Interview #4 phone conference interview with hiring manager and her manager, Aug 29th email received for declined continuance for consideration
This is a very long process...not a whole lot of communication, and hiring goes by their training schedule. I applied June 15th online. I received an email a few days later stating my application has been received. July 12th I received an email for a phone interview (screening) with HR. This was pretty typical and was a smooth process - I was immediately scheduled for a follow up interview with the hiring manager via phone for July 15th. Interview went smoothly and was broken into 2 phone calls due to managers schedule. Manager was encouraging but would be out of contact for a couple weeks but should hear from her manager and would like to get someone hired before classes start Aug 5th I received a little conflicting information about training.
I followed up with Manager on Aug 4th and we scheduled an in person 3rd interview for Aug 11th which makes sense that one would want to meet in person before deciding. This interview was pretty casual since we had a long in phone interview, I walked away feeling good from the experience, and understood the few times of interruptions with cell phone...I have worked in a similar type environment and so it was not unusual for me. I again received different information about some aspects of the job and training than before, but I was still comfortable with the company, position, and information.
Aug 23rd I received an email for a conference chat with the hiring manager and her manager set for Aug 26th. This was a casual but different interview, and the interview I struggle with the most. I felt the other manager may have been a little condensing and not quite hearing me out. We spent a bit of time discussing my previous experience (not related to job skills but more in a difference of opinion point of view) I state this because I heard a lot of "i didn't know that" and "really I didn't think about that aspect" and then not hearing how my skills and experience could translate into his benefit for his team because I was cut off a few times with "not to minimize your previous work experience but..."or "this is different than working in a **previous work environment** because this...." I know it's my job to sell myself but a little hard when being interrupted or minimized. He also asked me questions about my previous interviews bringing up X, Y, Z and I responded to question and explained how that was cleared up and where I stood now...but maybe that worked against me as well. I again received conflicting and very different information about the training and position than the 3 previous interviews.
My experience with HR and the hiring manager were good and encouraging and obviously able to see how my experience and skills could be a benefit. I am on the fence about the last interview just because of what I sensed during the process. I did inquire about what may have happened during the interviews that I could grow on so hopefully that will offer me some information. I was very disappointed in the decision.
