Initial interview was done over the phone as the Recruiter was based in London. Took about 20 minutes, and then he set me up for a Zoom interview with the Hiring Manager.
The Hiring Manager interview took about an hour and was done via Zoom, as he was based in Singapore. Afterwards, the Recruiter who did my initial interview called back to re-profile me for another role, and set me up for an in-person interview with himself because he was visiting the Philippines office the following week.
Met with the Recruiter in-person to go through more details on my background. At this point, I was already asked for my (then) current compensation package and expected salary. I told him that I have another company that I’m interviewing for, and that I’m already in the final stages. I was then setup for another Zoom interview with the new Hiring Manager (since I was re-profiled to a different role).
The 2nd Hiring Manager met with me via Zoom (she was based in the Denver office) for about 30 minutes and she wanted to follow-up with an in-person interview, as she was visiting Manila the following week.
I visited their office for the 2nd time to personally meet the new Hiring Manager, and this time, I was interviewed with a peer Manager. It took less than an hour and I was told that it should be the last round of interview (finally!).
The Recruiter called me back and asked me to complete a reference check before an offer can be extended. I actually find this process quite outdated (we actually removed reference checks in my then-current company). It took a while because 5 references have to respond to the reference check, and 2 of which must be Supervisors (I won’t recommend interviewing for them if you’re discreetly exploring opportunities outside your current work).
At this point, I have already been offered verbally by the other company, so now they have also made a verbal offer (even if I still had one reference lacking). I was asking about the company benefits, because the Recruiter could only provide me with the base salary - he said that he does not know about the local benefits (because he is from the UK), and that for me to be able to find out about the local benefits, I had to come in their office again to meet with Local HR and that it should coincide with the contract signing.
I was asking for a simple overview of their benefits, like a one-pager or a guide, but apparently they do not have one and kept insisting that I need to visit their office. I was still employed with my then-current employer, and could not afford to take a time off because I was in a conflicting shift. Furthermore, I didn’t want to visit their office again in-person, unless I’m 100% sure that I will sign the contract, to not waste anyone’s time.
I told the Recruiter that I have a deadline to respond to the other offer and that if I will consider Western Union, I have to at least review the benefits. After this, the Recruiter now said that the Local HR can speak with me over the phone to discuss the benefits.
After the delays and back and forth, I decided to accept the other offer and to decline the verbal offer previously made by the Recruiter. I think they can significantly improve the candidate experience by removing the reference check (or moving it later in the post-offer) and by providing relevant details (benefits and perks) when making an offer (it’s not always just about the salary).
