The initial two stages of the interview process — an informal call and a prep session with the recruiter — were positive, with friendly communication and a helpful overview of the role. However, the final interview with the senior recruiter was disappointing. Despite being polite on the surface, their tone was condescending and dismissive, and it felt like a decision had already been made. I was given an inaccurate lecture comparing consulting and advisory work, framed in a way that felt arrogant and dismissive of my current company. They even pointed out that my current company uses Gartner, as if that somehow validated their superiority, which came off as unnecessarily competitive. It was also frustrating to be recruited for a role where my experience significantly exceeded the job’s requirements — the position required only a BA and six months of experience, which didn’t align with my seniority and raised questions around progression and compensation that were never properly addressed. I found out through a document that the role is language specific, they kept it quiet. I find out at the interview that a language assessment would be required. Even though I several times clarified my fluency not to business level, the response implied I should be worried about being assessed and made me feel scrutinized despite being transparent. Patronizing comments like “now you can breathe” added to the discomfort. I sent a polite message to withdraw and offer input, I received a generic rejection email, no personal response, the next day with no acknowledgment for receiving feedback despite them emphasising that they are big on feedback. That reflected the bitterness that was felt at the interview.

Three rounds of interviews, first with the recruiter, second with the team leader and the third with the other person I would work with, each 30 minutes. They were standard questions but pretty casual as well.