The recruitment process was lengthy, which in itself is not a problem. I was approached about the opportunity in the beginning of July and did not interview with actual management until October. The main reason I declined the offer is that it was made clear that I was not valued as a candidate for the position; so, I knew that would only transfer over to how I was treated as an employee. There were about 8 steps in the process. The original contact by the recruiter and phone interview with him, an online questionnaire, a secondary application, a test at a testing center, another questionnaire, a personality assessment and then an interview with the actual team members I would be working with. (Had I accepted, there would be an additional background check and interview).
There was a test I was asked to take about halfway through the process that needed to be held at a specific testing center. When I asked about only a week extension to the deadline--due to a lack of testing facilities and time slots open in my area because of covid restrictions--I was told that would not be possible: that I would be welcome to take the test later and "reapply then if the position was still available". Because of this, I drove over two hours to a testing facility that had availabilities before the deadline-- despite the fact that I was already over-qualified for the position and wondered why a test was necessary. These types of tests continued with personality and qualification questionnaires, which I completed suspecting it was simply company procedure.
When the official offer was made, there was an automatic assumption by the recruiting officer of "when you accept the position". When I replied with additional questions about the offer, it was made clear there was absolutely no room, nor tolerance, for negotiation. I was made the offer late Thursday and expected to respond by Friday. For a company that approached me about applying--this was not a position I sought out--they made it clear that they were in no way interested in me as a person. It was evident then that I could expect a similar level of "support and consideration" should I choose to become their employee. Therefore, I declined the position. I have worked for, and currently work for, international companies and have experienced a far more human hiring process with these corporations, despite being much larger than Exelon. If you want valuable employees that actually want to do their best for your business, I recommend not treating them as disposable.