OK - the HR person seemed high-energy angry and resentful. They commented on how they laid off a bunch of staff earlier in the year who were "dead weight" and were looking for "go-getters". When I asked if Urban Land Institute was a fun place to work, they responded "...to be honest with you, it's not right now. but it could be in the future! fair warning that this may feel like a transactional job". That was all I needed to know. Except they invited me to the 2nd interview with the executive director. I took it for fun. but THAT MAN SEEMS TIRED AND LOW ENERGY. For an executive getting paid $400K, you would think he would be more excited about the organization he leads. When I asked him why people are inspired to donate to the organization he said "I don't really know. This is kind of a niche place. I turned this job down 4 times but they begged me, so I took it" Also, it was unclear what job I was actually applying for because he said "the title may change before you are onboarded" which was absurd and made me feel uncomfortable about the process. They invited me to 3rd round in DC, but I declined. Real estate developers have enough money and this seems like a cringe place to work.
