The process took 1+ week. I interviewed at Medical Hair (Germany) (Berlin)
Interview
Very unorganized and chaotic like the HR department. I received a call without any attempt to schedule a time via email. After the first call, they invited me for an interview with HR who lasted less than 30 min. I got the chance to be invited for a trial day where I wasted my time waiting than someone take of his time to explain me how the company work.
The head of the department didn’t even take 5 min to talk to me and HR never came to check if I was there.
Result, I wasted my day for nothing and they didn’t even took the time to call me back to explain why they didn’t accept my application.
Plus, the job was not very clear on the listing because it implied to do the job of 3 people in different departments only by yourself.
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Medical Hair (Germany) (Berlin) in Oct 2019
Interview
Summary:
- Poor communication throughout hiring process
- Expectation to work weekends and late evenings without notice
After applying online, I received an interview request via email, which I replied to immediately - this was ignored.
The following week, I received the same email which, again, I responded to immediately. Once again I received no reply to confirm dates or my availability.
I then received a call from a private number the next day during lunch, which was an employee wanting to learn more about me. Given the unexpected nature of the call, I mentioned I would not be free until later in the day and we agreed on a time. The call was mostly pleasant and I dismissed the previous oddities in communicating. Whilst a lot of interest was shown in myself, my profile and my expectations/earliest start date; there was no formal invitation to the office for a follow-up interview. This is something I had to request, as I wanted to get a better feel for the culture, working environment and nature of the job.
Following up from this, a date to visit the office was agreed. On the day, my interviewer wasn't available and I was made to wait 30 mins. Eventually, I was interviewed by a different person, who was friendly, but there was little structure and weekend work was casually mentioned.
In the end, I was made to wait 2 weeks for a decision, where I was eventually told my (reasonable) salary expectations were too high.
I understand that the nature of many startups can be inherently busy and people can struggle to communicate on time. However, I think good communication should be a strong priority for any company looking to hire credible candidates. A company should not be so unconvincing during the recruiting stage; a time where, if anything, an extra effort should be made to win over prospective employees.
I hope my experience was not a reflection of the company as a whole, but had I been made an offer, I likely would have refused for the above reasons.