I was contacted by a recruiter working with Chanel about an opening in their supply chain planning department. I spoke at length on a Saturday afternoon with the recruiter on the role. Monday emails were exchanged seeking a Tuesday meeting, when I met on site in NYC, with the hiring manager and a demand planner. I felt that my meeting with these two people went well. I am experienced in the role, it's responsibilities and the software tools associated to perform the job.
My final meeting was with the Director of HR. My meeting was delayed due to errors in scheduling by Chanel. I waited for approximately 45 minutes in a lobby having an impressive view overlooking Central Park. Upon meeting the Director of HR, apologies were offered for being tied up in another meeting and the Director immediately indicated that there areas of my resume that could be improved upon and to not leave without talking about these changes. This exchange did not give me a good feeling of my opportunity for this role. I learned that the Director dismissed my skills and experience in supply chain planning due to a lack of knowledge of the luxury goods market and her determination was made before meeting with me. Our meeting proceded with several of the typical interview questions and a review of my resume. I was unable to convince the Director that in my role, I manage numbers and that the numbers are validated with various members of the organization, per the plannning process and cycle. I left my interview, knowing that I could perform the job, but I questioned why I was invited to interview?
I contacted the recruiter and informed her of the meeting events and my opinion on how the interview went. My subsequent followups (email and voice mail) with the recruiter were not answered. Three weeks later, I was notified by the Director of HR that I was no longer being considered for the position.