The recruiters gave me very specific instructions on my presentation. I prepared for this and had it down to the minute believing brevity and clarity were the skills being sought. The interview was an hour long with highly confrontational questions that put me on the defensive. The newest guy on the panel who did most of the talking was really trying to impress his new managers! I was asked to leave after the first round, not getting a chance to even start the other 1:1 stuff I had prepared for the rest of the day. I had spent multiple meetings with two recruiters over the previous weeks. They told me exactly what to do and I followed their instructions. We even ran through practice scenarios about how it would go. It quickly became clear that the recruiters really do not coordinate with the interview team at all and I interviewed for what felt like a different job. As a manager and team lead I did the prescreening at my own company and had a >95% chance of bringing in a candidate who would be approved by the team - I never once ended the meeting early and sent them home. It is just a matter of putting in the time to ask the right questions and vet the candidate properly before the full team meeting. If you are asked to go home after the first round then that is a total failing of the recruiting team; what are they even there for? Candidates may miss in the first round but I have seen most of them pull it out of the dumpster and give some very impressive presentations later in the day. Sending them home early is unprofessional and should never happen if they are screened properly and the team is in alignment. Cancelling the interview and sending qualified people home early is very unprofessional and shows you don't know what you are doing. It is a redflag and really doesn’t make people want to work for you. Also it is very easy to let the first 10 second impression make up your mind in an overtly subjective way. Is it their age or gender? Their ethnicity? Are they not neurotypical enough and a bit too blunt for your fragile ego? The best hires I have had are the ones who are "difficult" in the interview and challenge me to be better; exactly what I want to hire them for. I don't hire obedience; I hire people who push the boundaries that make our company great. It's time to grow up and be professionals. Next time when they change the interview format or make it an interview for a completely different position I think I'll just shake their hand, thank them, and walk out. I did really enjoy the tour though - that was really awesome! Kinda made it all worth it. I was however very disappointed with KH as she had made a video about how she gave a neurodivergent candidate a second chance and he turned out to be a very excellent addition to the team. I was impressed by this and very much wanted to talk to her about my own issues which were less helpful at my prior job. I learned, however, that this was just corporate feel good PR right up there with oil companies caring about baby ducks. I thought I'd have an ally at Stoke. Turns out…nope. A company that presents one face in public but a very different one in private shows a rather large red flag.