I applied for a position as a Social Media Community Strategist with the D.C. office. My expectation was that it would be a social media role, but it also involved online and offline community management. (Later I noticed the role was renamed Community Strategist.)
The initial phone interview with the HR person went well. We talked extensively about my community management experience, and I had time to ask questions. During this interview (and on my resume), I was clear that I did not live in D.C., but that I was interested in relocating to the area.
Later that week I was invited by the HR person to come into the office for an interview, which I accepted. Context Partners did not offer to pay for my travel, and I decided against asking them to since they weren't yet a public company and serviced non-profits. Instead, I booked my own plane ticket, which cost me hundreds of dollars.
The day before the in-person interview, the Context Partners HR rep reached out to me, questioning if I was already visiting or living in the D.C. area. I was taken back--I'd already told her that I lived in a different part of the question and would relocate after getting a job. I let her know that I'd booked travel specifically for the interview. We then decided to change the interview to a phone one as I would have had to spend even more money in addition to my plane ticket (which, by the way, was non-refundable), and because the HR person didn't think it was necessary for me to meet the person conducting interview #2. (This led me to believe there would likely be a third interview for anyone applying for the community strategist position.)
Needless to say I was upset that I had spent so much money for nothing. But I decided to give the second interview a chance. I definitely didn't feel the same energy or optimism that I did from the initial one. The second person who interviewed me was quite vague with her responses and she didn't ask me many questions other than to give a summary of my experience.
Perhaps Context Partner's heart is in the right place with their projects, but they were quite careless with the way they went about scheduling the second interview. I hope they'll be better organized in the future as it can really be a burden to the other person.
