I've worked within early literacy before and have tremendous respect for the work Reading Horizons does. So I was excited to see the job listing! Unfortunately, my timing must have been off. I was invited to interview with the hiring manager and had a good conversation—but it was made clear within minutes that they already had finalists for the role and had booked the call 'just in case'. I understand candidates can fall through and truly appreciated the candor, but it was disheartening as a jobseeker managing other interviews and performance tasks to have spent time preparing + meeting about an opportunity that was already filled. Perhaps in the future, this could be disclosed via email, with a meeting booked later if the finalists do in fact fall through—or as a shorter phone screen that requires less preparation. Most disappointing was that afterwards, my follow-up went unanswered and there was no update as promised. After nearly three weeks, I reached out again and was sent a templated rejection from their ATS. Very impersonal after I spent nearly an hour chatting with the manager and was originally told she'd 'know more next week and be in touch.' I share my experience out of respect for the org—and after seeing a similar experience below from another candidate. I still wish the team all of the best and would otherwise have been excited to consider the role. :)