The interview process had more stages than really needed, and a lot of them covered the same ground. I ended up answering almost identical questions in 3 separate interviews with different people, which didn’t feel very efficient or like the best use of anyone’s time for a senior role. The part that stood out the most was being formally interviewed by a potential direct report who was quite junior and seemed to only know this company’s way of doing things. In my whole career, I’ve never come across a setup where a direct report is responsible for assessing someone who would be managing them and having a say in their hiring. This very bottom-up approach makes it harder to introduce new perspectives or challenge existing ways of working, which is particularly relevant when a company is looking for fresh thinking or change. Overall, the process felt disjointed, and it said a lot about the organisation’s maturity, decision-making, and overall leadership style.