The first interview with corporate was great and got me excited to learn more about the company! Unfortunately, red flags popped up through the second interview with the district manager.
She was late to the interview by a few minutes, which I don’t usually mind. Life happens. I do think she should have finished chewing her food before joining the call and speaking, though. Immediately launching into how busy she was and insinuated that we would have to rush through the interview also set an odd tone.
I was told that she was hiring down for these roles, meaning if someone applied for Store Manager they needed to have District Manager experience, or an Assistant Manager at minimum needed Store Manager experience. I took that as an opportunity to clarify some of my roles and experience, but she interrupted me and said she was the “mayor of the mall” and knew how all of the different places operated even though there was no way she’d know the circumstances behind my interim roles. She cut me off halfway through my second question for her because she was late for another meeting, but insisted we’d finish our discussion at the third interview.
She requested I send her three dates that I was free. I was already apprehensive after the second interview about being underpaid for a role I’m overqualified for (commission sounds like the real money maker in this role, so I wasn’t too worried), and additional comments about the lack of work/life balance. However, I was willing to learn more before making a decision. As requested, I sent the dates and times, but never received a response. I was also ignored after a follow-up message too.
While the interview with HR was great, the DM showed an unprofessional lack of courtesy and communication.