I was first invited to attend a short 30 minute interview over Microsoft Teams. Once this was completed, I was invited to the next stage which was an in-person interview followed by a 20-minute Microsoft Excel test. I usually have a good ability to read a room and came out of the interview feeling good about my performance. I knew that I had dealt with questions well, giving relevant examples. I had done my research on the company, dropping in my knowledge of their strategies and ethos. I answered every single Excel question with ease. I felt I built a good rapport with the panel, believing I had given a good impression. Just under a week later I found out that I had not got the position, given the nature of the job market I was disappointed by not surprised. To help with my career progression I emailed the sender of the rejection to ask for feedback. Initially I was told I was not entitled to feedback "at this stage" even though I had 2 interviews. At this point I emailed one of the panel members directly to ask for some quick feedback. I was sent a lengthly email - longer than any feedback I had ever received - which explained that I didn't give any relevant examples of how I would fit in at the company, how I had talked-over the interviewer (which I can assure you did not happen), and how my research on the company was good but they did not consider their corporate strategy relevant to this particular department. Lastly, the interviewer criticised me because my personal outlook had some issues receiving an email (which I fixed quickly and was not much of an issue). She said this gave her a bad impression of my ability to run an inbox - why is how I run my personal email anything to do with this job? They did highlight that I had excellent Excel skills but I believe that the feedback I was given was rather unfair. Reading it back it describes a totally different person. I was obviously disappointed not to get the job but I have tried not to let this cloud my review. I would describe the feedback as very passive aggressive and nit-picking. It felt like they were looking for a reason not to give me the job, creating an impression that I did not listen or had not done my research. Things that she criticized me for not knowing were not advertised on the company website which made me question why I was expected to know them. Overall verdict - very poor interview process for a part-time office job.
