The interviewers were friendly and the conversations themselves were positive. The only downside was the process.
The final stage involved creating a fairly substantial integrated acquisition campaign across multiple touchpoints, complete with a presentation, at short notice over a weekend, for a 9-month fixed-term contract role. I had initially been given the impression the presentation would be held remotely; however, it ultimately required significant travel to Leeds at my own expense. It felt like a large amount of unpaid work to complete within a few days, particularly for a mid-weight role. If the intention is to assess a candidate’s thinking and design ability, I think a shorter, more focused exercise would achieve the same outcome while placing far less demand on candidates’ time.
After investing a considerable amount of time and money into the process, the outcome was communicated via a generic rejection email, with feedback only available upon request. Given the stage of the process, more personalised communication would have been appreciated.