I went through two rounds of interviews for the Laytime Specialist position at Oldendorff. First round: Interview with two people. The questions were fairly standard — mostly about my current role, experience with laytime calculations, communication with charterers/owners, and some situational questions. Second round: Panel interview with five people. Again, the questions were professional but nothing unexpected — it’s important to prepare several stories, especially around challenges in your current position, problem-solving, and how you deal with pressure. What I found unusual and frankly disappointing was that instead of sending a rejection via email, they scheduled a separate video call to deliver it. I appreciated the effort to provide feedback, but in reality, no specific reasons were given during the call — just a generic “we chose someone else.” I believe this approach is not ideal: A candidate invests time, emotionally prepares (thinking it might be a third interview), and rearranges their schedule. If there’s no detailed feedback, it would be much more respectful and efficient to send a polite rejection email. Overall, the process was structured and professional, but this final step left a negative impression. Candidates deserve clarity and consideration for their time.

Invited to a virtual interview with 2 team leaders and the desk lead. Pretty standard questions, nothing difficult. Few weeks later I was invited to their office in Lübeck for the second interview. Went really well, had lunch and met the team. We discussed terms. Suddenly I was told one of the managers wanted someone with at least 15 years experience so they were holding out the offer till such a person was found.