Began with about a 20-30 minute conversation with the HR rep. General feel out questions, nothing out of the ordinary. Then advanced to two 30 minute phone conversations, one with an employee asking background questions, then another with a case study. Case study was a market size question. A company comes up with a new drug, after given some information they ask general questions and then more specific about where to market it, show you some numbers about profits, etc. I did not get an offer to advance, this position was not really in my background so it wasn't a match. Just one criticism I had was I kept asking about the type of tools the position would use, the day to day expectations of this position, and none of the 3 people I spoke with really knew anything about it. I assume if I advanced into the in person I would get those answers, but after the phone conversations I was a little hesitant about pursuing the position, even if offered to come in for the last interview.

I had a disappointing experience with one of the company’s recruiters. She mentioned that she had called me three times using a technology-based calling service, but I never received any of those calls. When I asked politely if there was another way we could connect—such as using a direct phone number or perhaps a video service (i.e. Zoom/Teams/Google Meets)—she declined to offer alternatives and instead closed out my application. This approach felt unnecessarily rigid and unprofessional. Technical issues can happen, and candidates should be given a fair chance to engage in the process. A recruiter’s role is to facilitate communication, and the unwillingness to do so reflects poorly on the company’s hiring practices and overall candidate experience.