The Process
One of their recruiters saw my C.V. online and got in touch with me asking if I'd be interested in one of their roles. We had a chat on the phone for about 50 minutes which was mostly him talking about Youview very enthusiastically. It was very impressive and engaging
The next step was to send me some video clips to watch and a document which was about 200 pages long. I said I was still interested and so a phone interview was scheduled and they told me this would either be a yes or no, and that after that there would be an in-house interview lasting 2 to 4 hours with a whiteboard question.
The Phone Interview
Their recruiter called in the morning to say good luck and to get in touch in the afternoon for feedback. They actually phoned a couple of times because their staff had not arrived due to a bus strike. I totally understood that because travelling around London really is a pain sometimes, even without a strike. I said I only have the morning off of work, but I could have two shorter interviews if that would help because I would have to leave for work at 12. They said it should be ok because the phone interview is just to see if it is worth bringing me in or not.
An hour late, they called me for the interview but didn't mention anything about being late, instead they just asked if I was expecting their call and started the interview. I enjoyed the interview, it wasn't stressful, difficult or nerve wracking at all. Sure, there are some things I didn't know and without the advantage of seeing the interviewers it is hard to tell whether they were listening or pulling faces, but that's what telephone interviews are like. The interview lasted an hour and I said I had to go to work. To be honest they didn't seem too impressed by that but frankly it wasn't me that was an hour late and my employer is paying me so I'm not prepared to be disrespectful to them and walk in late.
I dropped the recruiter a follow up email that afternoon, but by the end of the day I hadn't heard anything so I assumed it was a no.
They Didn't Respond
About a week later, I still hadn't heard from these guys which in my book is bad. It's fairly common for companies to not reply to applications, and somewhat understandable since they might get too many, but I have never had a company not respond after an interview and certainly fail to respond to follow up contact. The standard rejection email takes very little effort to send and for a company to not even do that leaves the company in very poor light.
First, I was left wondering what on earth went so wrong during that interview that the company decided to blank me. Imagine what it would take for you to blank someone, then imagine how it would feel to be blanked and not know why!
Second, it begs the question of how this company would treat me if I moved forward in the process or got the job. To simply not respond is not my style and I view it as poor and disrespectful. Over the years of interviewing and working I realised that I value professionalism and respect, and I expect the same in return.
I did contact them a week later saying what I thought about not responding to me, and they said they would call me with feedback later ... but they didn't.
