The BeApplied system was used, where I was requested to complete 4 competency-based responses to hypothetical situations and one question about why I'm interested in the role. This was around 1,250 words of work (250 words per question) and they varied in difficulty. I felt this was already a big ask and I dislike this system given how much it demands of candidates upfront. However, I noted there was a lot of information support about the recruitment process for applicants and this was appreciated.
Based on my responses, I was invited to a 15-minute 'informal' screening interview with two staff to 'go through my CV'. This is where I had a really negative experience. I joined the call waiting room on time and a few minutes prior to my designated slot - but 10 minutes later I was still waiting. I checked my connection and started to write an email to confirm I had the right time when I thought I'd just just try rejoining in case something had gone wrong (I'd suspected the previous call overran or they actually did not see me in the waiting room). I immediately connected to a rather flustered HR professional who accused me of being a no show and as a result, the panel had left and we couldn't reschedule. I assured them I'd been on time and explained what had happened but they didn't seem to believe me. Eventually - reluctantly - said they'd call me back with a new slot.
The panel comprised of the same HR professional and the hiring manager. The revised slot started off a bit wobbly where I was repeatedly told they had been speaking to other candidates all day and I was left feeling like an inconvenience. I apologised, but felt this was not a fair position to put me in and it had not been my fault I was not let into the meeting room. I was then informed I would be asked 3 questions which would be scored and I would not be able to ask any questions in return. A bit flustered with this reception, I did not perform my best and was taken by surprise by the nature of the questions which were highly structured, not really going through my CV or were in any way an 'informal on-line chat with a couple of questions' as described. However, I felt they did warm up a bit once we got into it and I could see them actively listening/scoring my responses. The entire 'interview' lasted 8 minutes.
Received a prompt outcome from the application within the next week, which I appreciated. Scored very strongly on the written application questions (which I feel was a better representation of the kind of activities the role would demand and my skillset) and unsurprisingly, very poor on the interview. Strangely, I had scores allocated to topics I don't believe I spoke about in the call - but perhaps it was another metric I touched upon that was similar (not sure).
Overall, felt far too much emphasis was placed on what was essentially an 8 minute call - in fact, it felt quite disrespectful of the time I had invested as a candidate upfront. Did not progress to next stage, but after that experience, I was quite relieved. A shame really, as the work very much aligned with my experience and they seemed like a great organisation to work for on their website - perhaps just caught them on an off day!
However, it reaffirmed my feelings about the BeApplied system - I don't think it necessarily makes the process fairer or provide an opportunity for strong applicants with more diverse skillsets or traits to demonstrate their potential value to the employer. While it's great that detailed feedback is made available to all candidates, frankly, I will not be applying to positions that use this system in the future (it's just not worth the time investment when it doesn't lead to a proper interview!).
