I applied online. The process took 7 weeks. I interviewed at GovData (Warrington, North West England, England) in Sep 2018
Interview
The entire process was disorganised, unprofessional and a huge waste of my time.
1. I was invited to a 'Group Interview' to 'see how I would behave in a group setting' but when I turned up it was only me at the interview. They were 10 minutes late to see me.
2. I was then invited to a second interview with all the managers, where I was asked to interview them to enable me to put together a strategy document. They were 10 minutes late to see me and no one knew who was supposed to be in the room with me at what times. So managers were constantly entering and leaving the room. Half way through, one manager came in, slumped in the chair and started smoking an e-cig. She then complained to me about the late hours she has to work and said 'I'll probably be here until 9:30 tonight'.
3. I put together my strategy document and sent it to them, expecting to hear whether I had been successful. After not hearing back for a week, I chased them to be told that the final interview with the CEO needed to be organised. As I am already employed, to have two extra interviews without prewarning was not great!
4. I turned up to the final interview five minutes early. Twenty minutes after the interview was due to start, someone came out to tell me that the CEO was too busy so would not be able to see me. I explained that I had driven half an hour and taken time off work to come, to be told that 'he only had half an hour booked out so ten minutes won't be enough for the interview.' After explaining that I had been let in nearly 30 minutes ago, the lady went to find someone else to hold my interview.
Two people who were not the CEO held my interview and asked me to talk through my strategy document. They made comments like 'great answer' and 'that's what we like to hear' and I picked up that the interview had generally gone well. However, I was concerned that they had asked me what my age was. They told me I would hear from them the following Monday.
5. The following Wednesday (now six weeks after the first interview) I had not heard anything, so I chased them, to be told that the two ladies who interviewed me had gone on holiday so I would not hear until the next Monday.
6. The next Monday, I had still not heard and I made the decision that I would not accept the role if it was offered to me. If this is the way they treat candidates, I dread to think how they treat their employees. On Wednesday, I sent them an email to say I was disappointed that no one had the courtesy to contact me, considering I had spent seven hours travelling to their offices and two hours on a strategy document for them. I also asked if they would like some feedback from a candidate’s perspective. They did not respond.
Please be careful applying for a role with this organisation and spot the warning signs early. I believe that they used me for free L&D consultation and took advantage of the fact I am fairly young in the industry.
I would have happily sent them this feedback if they had accepted it. Since they didn't, it is only fair that I help to warn others away from this company.