While applying for my pre-doctoral internship placements (i.e., one year placement required in order to graduate and super-competitive), I interviewed at several agencies in a space of a few weeks. Only one was notably terrible:
I was given 2 days to fly to the interview (interview being a 1 hour plane ride or 6 hour drive away from home, which was known to the agency) or forfeit the opportunity. I decided to make it work.
I arrived about 20 minutes early per usual and needed some of those minutes to locate the correct offices in a large 12-story building. When I entered the waiting area, no receptionist was present, so I rang the bell. When the receptionist returned, I was greeted in a surly manner and given forms to complete (the kind that were copies-of-copies-of-copies-of-copies), all of the information being requested was easily and clearly available on the online forms required for the interview process, but alright. I finished the forms with about 10 minutes left until my appointment.
I was not seen until 45 minutes after my appointment was scheduled. Neither explanations nor apologies were provided.
During the interview itself, the CEO asked me no fewer than three times if I was bilingual in Spanish; I am, and that information was noted in at least four places in my application materials (required to be lengthy by the process). She also spent at least half the interview time telling me about how I should behave (apropos of nothing in the interview), and asked personal questions about family (do I have children?) and religion. The other interviewer appeared clearly uncomfortable with her questions and attempted to ask more relevant questions. At no time during the interview did the CEO pronounce my name correctly (my names are fairly to very common). At no time was I given an opportunity to ask questions or provided with more information about the agency’s various programs, in which I would be working if I ended up there. The room was hot, with a bright midday sun glaring into my face, and no acknowledgement of same from my interviewers.
