My experience was unfortunately disappointing. The interviewer arrived late, and despite the store having a large back-of-house area (where interviews would typically be conducted), the interview took place at public seating within the shopping centre. There were quite a few customers seated nearby and constant foot traffic passing through the area.
As a result, I felt uncomfortable speaking at my normal volume out of courtesy and respect for the people around us. The interview was conducted at a volume that projected into the surrounding seating area, which drew attention from passers-by and made me increasingly conscious of the public setting. I believe this environment limited my ability to properly demonstrate my communication skills, confidence, personality, and ability to engage naturally in conversation.
The interview also experienced significant technical difficulties. For a large portion of the interview, the interviewer was attempting to log into the system and access information on their laptop. They were also unable to view my CV during the interview, so she ended up taking rough notes on her phone instead. This created a fragmented experience, with questions feeling unplanned and interrupted, while topics frequently shifted as technical issues were being resolved.
While the interviewer was friendly, the overall process felt disorganised and lacked the level of privacy and professionalism I would normally expect from an interview. I left feeling that I was not given a fair opportunity to present myself or participate in a structured interview process.