This was simultaneously both the best and the worst interview experience I have ever had. Here's the good and the bad.
The Good: I was very excited about this role. I believe it to be a solid product that I could get behind and believe in and really sell well. I had an old colleague that works there that introduced me to the place, had a couple of phone calls, then the on site interview. The level of rapport I had with everyone over the phone was through the roof. Everything was jiving great. And the on site interview (with one notable exception we'll get to in a moment) was an awesome experience. The people were awesome, I knocked the interview questions and the demo out of the part, etc. I really like they way they do the interview process as it gives a candidate a chance to show their stuff, which if you got the stuff to show is only pure goodness.
The Bad: Now for the "notable exception" mentioned above. One of the individuals I had to interview with was a person way up the chain of command in Seattle. Since I was in Austin, I had to teleconference with her. Ok - get this!
First, the lady shows up without a copy of my resume. As she's across the country, I can't hand her a copy. And turns out she has bad reception in the room, so I can't e-mail her a copy.
Are you kidding me?!?!?! I spent hours upon hours preparing for this interview and you couldn't spend 30 seconds making sure you have a copy of my resume?!?! I have never in my life been on an interview where the person on the other end had no copy of way of getting a copy of my resume. How do you conduct a successful interview like that? Answer: You don't.
So what does she do? She goes over to my LinkedIn profile (which was not custom set up for this interview like my resume was) picks out the most obscure content on there and proceeds to ask off the wall questions. All the while expressing an incredibly cold demeanor as if to say "try all you want buddy, there's no way you're building rapport with me!"
After a few minutes of random questions from LinkedIn, she seems to be thinking "well, I can't ask him any intelligent questions based on his resume since I didn't bother to bring a copy with me, so I think I'll just grill him and see how well I can make him squirm."
It was not an interview. It was an interrogation. I have been on hundreds of interviews in my life, and that 20 minute session with her stands tall high above all the rest as the most ridiculous interview of my life.
Despite that, I was hopeful based on how overwhelmingly good everything else had gone. HR guy told me I'd hear back on a week. One week goes by. Then two. Then three. I send a couple of follow-up messages, but to no avail.
Then finally come to find out that I did not get the job. Why? Yep, because of that one 20 minute interview. A lady shows up ill prepared, conducts the most ridiculous interview in the most cold hearted way, and that is what makes the final decision. Unbelievable.
Key takeaways to the folks at Tableau:
1-I know this sounds like a crazy concept, but when interviewing someone, make sure you have some way of having their resume on hand. Just a thought.
2-If you tell someone they will hear back in a certain time, then whether the news is good or bad, let them know, especially if they are following up with you.
