Disappointing. This was billed as a 'preliminary' interview and was clearly an exercise in "Does his face fit?" Mine obviously didn't. There was a strong overlap between what I do now and what they were asking for. But it wasn't a rigorous interview, nothing like what I had to do to get my current job. It was just an easy conversation. There were two interviewers, though one wasn't there the whole time, so some of it was just one-to-one. They were friendly enough, but right from the word 'go' I felt they really wanted someone younger (and they were much younger than me). It wasn't so much what they said as the looks on their faces, especially the main interviewer and especially she asked whether I could handle varying work demands at short notice. From the way she scrutinised me (probably not realising she was leaking these non-verbal cues), she clearly thought I was some old guy who couldn't handle the work, when the truth is I've probably dealt with a heavier workload than she's ever known. Sadly, there was no third person there (e.g. from HR, from another department, or even from another organisation) to oversee that the interview was conducted properly. It was far below I would have expected from such a well-known organisation. It confirmed my general belief that, at least for large organisations, selection is better conducted via an independent testing centre. At the end of the preliminary interview, I was told it was really down to me whether I would have a second interview. They said candidates often misunderstood what the role was about, so if I wanted to go to the next stage then I should write and let them know. I did this, and two days later I got a letter saying I hadn't been successful. Bearing in mind I was approached by a recruiter about this post, and then heard nothing for two months before being invited for an interview, it just seemed like a poor show all round. I felt like they'd wasted my time.