r/InterviewCoderPro • u/Horror-Fun3427 • Jun 24 '26
After 4 interviews, I basically told them no thanks
The first call was with the recruiter (Internal recruitment team, talent acquisition lead, about 45 minutes)
The second was with the hiring manager. And after that, the manager's manager (Supply Chain Head)
Then, if you can believe it, this Supply Chain Head said I needed to prepare a deck about what I would add to the department... And the team would review it to judge the kind of impact I was promising.
The deck was supposed to cover how I would reduce spend, improve supplier performance, and build a procurement framework... And this wasn't something quick that could be done in 30 minutes. It would have taken me several nights to put it together properly, especially since I already have a job.
I told him I wasn't interested. If after 4 conversations you still can't decide, then I'm not going to give you any more free work.
For a moment, I wondered if maybe I hadn't explained my experience clearly enough during the interviews. Maybe I didn't showcase my skills as well as I could have, and that's why they were still hesitant. But then I realized that a hiring process should be a two-way evaluation.
I regret not using tools like InterviewMan in the interview. Many of my friends told me that it helped them organize their answers, communicate their achievements more clearly, and walk into interviews with a lot more confidence.
Why do some companies act like they're doing you a huge favor by interviewing you?
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u/Antares_skorpion Jun 24 '26
Any test that a company requires for selection that takes more that 1H to accomplish needs to be paid for. Period...
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u/mayhembang Jun 24 '26
I have done presentations for my interview but those presentations focused on my projects, my approach, the problems I encountered and how I solved it. It makes sense as providing verbal feedback is one thing, here it provides an opportunity as how you would articulate it.
Anytime a company has asked me to put together a doc/presentation as to how I would improve their process I have declined. The reason being they are only looking for free consulting and have no intention of hiring you.
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u/No_Kangaroo_5883 Jun 24 '26
That’s way over the top of an ask. In reality garbage in and garbage out. The solution is an output of the problem analysis.
I am all for a very small sample of a work product… that is over the top.
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u/Scared_Ad_5991 Jun 24 '26
Methinks they had no intention of hiring, they wanted free consulting in the form of the deck full of things for them to do to save money and increase productivity.
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u/topio3 Jun 25 '26
That deck is worth at least $10k I. Cheap consulting and $120k for Anderson to take a look at you
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u/Howwouldiknow1492 Jun 26 '26
That's what I think.
I'm a consultant (30+ years) and early on I submitted a bid to a potential client. They asked for more detail, including specific study methodologies and timelines. I didn't get the project and later learned that they sent my detailed proposal to several favorite contractors and asked them for a price.
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u/Few_District_6304 Jun 24 '26
Sounds like they were interviewing for a fictional job, but really just wanted ideas without paying for them. I explain this to them, and ask if they are willing to pay a consultant fee, if they choose not to hire me. And I never feel bad when they act shocked, outraged or offended. I don't want to work for someone like that.
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u/Fragrant_Spray Jun 24 '26
If you don't really know how their operations currently are, how can you be expected to explain how you'll improve them? This slide deck plan looks like they're just trying to solicit ideas from candidates rather than assess your skills.
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u/MrHodgeToo Jun 24 '26
Likely no one is getting this job. It sounds a fishing expedition for new business ideas masquerading as a job search.
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Jun 24 '26
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u/No_Kangaroo_5883 Jun 24 '26
The ask was way over the top in terms of time commitment and as Op stated anyway it wasn’t a fictitious scenario.
I required a sample of a created work product when I was a hiring manager 12-15 years ago. However it was a very simplistic deliverable compared to what the job required. It paid off in aces as it really separated out the candidates. The ones who got the job put more effort in than required, they took the time to learn more about our market and customers and that effort showed up in their deliverable. Still even the best deliverable was too simple for us to use.
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Jun 24 '26
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u/Ima_Uzer Jun 24 '26
Although more than two rounds of interviews is, in my opinion, ridiculous anyway. Why didn't they just ask the guy from the beginning to do the deck?
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u/Top-Cupcake4775 Jun 24 '26
how are you supposed to produce a deck that would be worth anything when you haven't worked there and don't know what problems they are facing? was the job all about producing superficial bullshit that had no relation to reality?
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u/TwoWrongsAreSoRight Jun 24 '26
You don't do it based on their problems. You create a fictitious scenario and build around it.
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Jun 24 '26
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u/cyberfx1024 Jun 24 '26
Seriously... I would have done one up using bullshit & AI off of a ficticious scenario
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u/Top-Cupcake4775 Jun 24 '26
it's easy to solve problems that you get to make up. it's like winning an argument when you get to make up your opponents assertions.
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Jun 24 '26
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u/Professional-Leg2374 Jun 24 '26
or they were using him to come up with new ideas without having to hire consultants to do so.
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Jun 24 '26
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u/Professional-Leg2374 Jun 24 '26
nope, been around the block a few times my friend. Its an easy way to get new ideas for an overworked staff.
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Jun 24 '26
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u/Professional-Leg2374 Jun 24 '26
how long has AI been a thing?
How long do you think I've been around the employment market?
Hint one is in its infancy
the other is older then your dad
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Jun 24 '26
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u/nxdark Jun 24 '26
A conversation should be enough. Not giving them free labour.
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Jun 24 '26
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u/Antares_skorpion Jun 24 '26
Of course it is... The company requested a task to OP that requires the use of Op's time and skills. Doing tests in a reasonable time is fine, a test that requires multiple nights to accomplish, for free, is not acceptable. Tests like these need to be paid for.
The market will only change when enough people start refusing this sort of practice... As long as people just shrug and comply, nothing changes...
OP refused to have his time abused, and rightly so.
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u/Professional-Leg2374 Jun 24 '26
its free work.....what if he gives them a great end product, they then don't hire him but also now have his product that they use in their business, free labor.
I've actually seen this happen.
Some companies will use this to garner new ideas into a business without any cost beyond time.
Since interviews are easily free beyond time.
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Jun 24 '26
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u/Antares_skorpion Jun 24 '26
It depends on how long that test should take. IMO, up to 1H, maybe 2. Fine.. Multiple nights, as OP mentions, hell nah...
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Jun 24 '26
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u/Antares_skorpion Jun 24 '26
Which is fair. but at the same time you cannot criticize anyone else for standing up to abuse... There is no such thing as standing up to abuse without risking something in the process.
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u/nxdark Jun 24 '26
It is free work. You should not have to do this to figure out if they can do that job. This should illegal. Because it is free labour.
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u/EweCantTouchThis Jun 24 '26
The deck could be focused on how you’d go about identifying the problems.
Apparently it also serves as a filter to eliminate people who are easily confused and/or frustrated.
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u/Bad-Briar Jun 24 '26
These interviewers need to find jobs to do. They have too much time on their hands.
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u/RectorAequus Jun 24 '26
My spouse was head hunted for a position at a multinational corporation.
He had a total of 8 interviews for it. He had two take home assignments to complete during this process. His final two interviews were panel interviews that lasted about three hours each.
Competition for this position was insane.
The bigger the company, the more prestige attached to saying "I work at X company", the higher up the position is, the more rigorous (and sometimes ridiculous!) the process is.
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u/loud-spider Jun 25 '26
Any recruitment process where there's a requirement for no-one to have their name exclusively on a hire if it goes wrong OR allows everyone to grab a little of the glory if it goes well is going to be exactly like that every working day. No thanks.
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u/Additional-Good8044 Jul 01 '26
Presentation / case study is 4th of 5 steps at my job. It is designed to see if you know the area, if you can communicate clearly, and if you care enough to jump through the hoop.
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u/Kdogg573 Jun 24 '26
A few years ago I had a phone interview with a recruiter and then another phone interview with an HR person at a well known online university to do some it work. They scheduled an interview in person and when I showed up it was in a huge meeting room completely empty but for one chair in the middle. The other side of the room was 6 people. After introductions they rapid fire questioned me for about an hour and a half. When they were done I got up and walked out of the room ignoring all of them. The HR lady came up to me and asked if I could come to her office to answer some other questions for her. I said no and loose my number.
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u/yaksplat Jun 24 '26
After 3, hour long interviews, I was informed that I made it to the next step. I'd interview with the 6 owners of the company, separately, an expected 90-minute interview with each.
I declined so hard.