I found the available position advertised online and sent in my application materials last week. I received an interview request by email on Monday of this week. The requested interview time was for today, Thursday. I called (as requested by the email) on Monday to confirm. During this phone call, I requested we complete the interview by phone or Skype, as I am currently located on the other side of the country -- a 3-hour time difference. The person I spoke with (who is an attorney) confirmed that I am bilingual and asked me to email herself and the Director as a reminder that the interview would be completed by phone or Skype. (Mind you, my resume and cover letter both clearly stated my current location.)
By yesterday afternoon, I did not receive a confirmation email that they had received my email reminder that our interview would be taking place by phone or Skype, so I sent an additional email reminder. Finally, this morning, minutes before the interview was to begin, I received an affirmative response that the need for the phone/Skype interview was understood.
Two minutes into what should have been the interview start time, I still had not received a Skype request or phone call, so I called the attorney; it went to voicemail. I sent another email, stating that I was ready to begin whenever they were. I waited until the 10-minute mark from when the interview should have begun, and called again. This time, the attorney answered. I told her who I was and explained that I didn't know if they would be calling me or if I should call them. She asked, "Isn't this supposed to be an in-person interview?" I reminded her of our phone conversation on Monday, that I live on the other side of the country, and that she had said it would be fine to complete the interview by phone or Skype. She made a comment about the poor weather on their end, then asked for my phone number and read it back to confirm. (Again, my cover letter and resume clearly displayed my phone number.) She said they would call me back.
I waited until the 40-minute mark of what should have been the interview start time before emailing the attorney once more to let her know that I needed to head to work soon and asked if she would be calling me right then or later on in the day. I received no response.
Two hours after the would-be start time, I was at work and received a phone call that went to voicemail. I still had received no email response. I listened to the voicemail a few hours later, a jumbled and rushed message about an offer being made (to whom was left unspecified) and that I should call back for an explanation. I debated calling back, as I had lost all interest in pursuing employment with these people ever again, but decided to go ahead and give them the opportunity to explain. The attorney asked me if I had read her email. I told her I hadn't received any email from her, but I'd listened to her voicemail. She then blatantly lied to me, saying that she sent an email AND left me a voicemail. That is untrue; I still have no email from her, even in my spam folder. She proceeded to tell me that the Director had made an offer to another applicant YESTERDAY and that the position was no longer available, but they would contact me again in the future should they have another opening for which I qualify.
I told her this morning was a huge inconvenience on my part, as I had set aside time to be able to meet with them, to which she retorted that there was no way she could have known that an offer was already made before the Director told her about it AFTER I had called this morning. She added that they didn't even have their Skype up and running.
I am a mid-level, experienced professional, and have never experienced such an despicable interview scenario. The complete disregard and disrespect I experienced here is unacceptable for ANY interviewee.This entire interaction was SO unprofessional; I can't believe I even wasted my time. I will take my skills where they are appreciated and respected.
