This is a role under Dealreporter, covering ECM. I had an hour-long phone interview with the editor and senior reporter, both based in Taiwan. The next day, I had to start on a 3-business-day reporting test. - I did not have a choice in when I wanted to do the test – they want to test how you deal with stress and time management, creative problem solving. - I was asked to call strangers for information. Upon further clarification, I could claim to be a new reporter or intern at Dealreporter. I could also say I’m doing a reporting test. - When I asked directly, I was told that the article would be used only for test purposes and will not be published. - They did not like that my draft only drew on published articles and asked me to reach out to market sources. - Within the week, the editor published an article on this topic. It included 2 uncited sources. On top of that, I did a 4-hour writing and editing test, 2 articles each. They were fairly standard and covered interpreting term sheets. The tests were supposed to be followed by at least 2 more interviews. Upon asking for interview feedback, the only reason they gave was that I did not complete the reporting task as expected because I did not have primary sources. My concerns about harassing people for the sake of an interview test were ignored.

Based on the questions asked, it felt like the interviewer Googled "how to conduct an interview" before our meeting. I was a little surprised. Cool offices in New York! I did not get an offer and was told the position was on hold...