I was invited to a group interview with the team the Associate would be joining and the manager of the team. It was friendly and informal: this was obviously a welcoming group that knows each other well.

A 20-minute video call turned out to be an exercise in wasting everyone’s time. I came prepared to answer high-quality questions about skills, work history, and ways I would contribute to the org, and I was presented with the same questions The Gap asked me when I interviewed for a seasonal job back in college. I was shocked that they were so ill prepared to speak to applicants to a $70k per year position. When I was given the chance to ask my own questions, I asked them how they work with Indigenous peoples who have historic and current ties to the land they work on. Considering they purchase land in order to conserve it, this is a critical issue. I was told by multiple people on the call that they have “transactional” relationships with tribes and that they work with tribes because they take good care of the land. They appear to have no understanding that not all Indigenous peoples are tribal members, and that the land they work on is stolen. Horrified, I asked two DEI-specific follow-up questions that had equally disappointing answers. They say they only recently added a DEI component to their long-term plan, and they appear to have no real practical application or knowledge of equity work. The fact that they asked me personal, custom questions tipped me off to this, since it’s outdated practice that runs contrary to equity in hiring. They also asked me if they could record the interview (what applicant could say no?), seeming to have no understanding of the invasion this could be for applicants. Unsurprisingly, I was not invited for a second interview, despite my more than ten years of experience (including in leadership). When I asked to speak to the communications director for clarity on how I could have performed better and how I could improve as a candidate, they told me that they didn’t have time because they brought in 25 applicants for the first round, and they were busy with those who moved on to the second round. There were so many issues with their process and so many red flags about them as an org, I would not want to work for them.