𝙏𝙇;𝘿𝙍: Three interviews (phone with HR, Teams video call, in-person interview). Seems like a great place to work. Salary offered was $15k lower than what HR recruiter communicated. Written offer was extended, then rescinded (full details below).
𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙏𝙃𝙍𝙀𝙀 𝙄𝙉𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙑𝙄𝙀𝙒𝙎:
𝟭. 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗥 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿: I received an email from an HR recruiter (contracted by USAN) to schedule an initial interview. It took somewhere between two weeks to a month between submitting the application and receiving this email. The recruiter was wonderful, and we went over the job, discussed the salary range, and he asked some screening questions about my background in the field. He also explained next steps. I'd say he's probably the best recruiter I've interviewed with.
𝟮. 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: This included the hiring manager and a team lead. In terms of content, it was excellent. Both interviewers concerned themselves not only with making sure that I had the abilities they were looking for, but also making sure the environment and culture would be one that I was compatible with.
In terms of CONTEXT, however, it was a stressful interview. I was the only one with my camera on, and I'd never had that happen before in an interview. It was... unsettling. Even though everything being said was great, I felt like I was in a police investigation room with two-way mirrors and disembodied voices asking me questions.
This wasn't the intention of the interviewers, of course. They had no idea I felt this way. People in IT normally keep their cameras off - their meetings tend to involve heavy screen-sharing, so there's no point having the camera on. To do it over, though, I would've started the interview with my camera off and then turned it on if requested. (I didn't feel comfortable asking if I could turn my camera off mid-interview.)
𝟯. 𝗜𝗻-𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: About a week after the Teams interview, I interviewed at their Norcross location. I really liked their facility, there was plenty of parking, and they even had a nice automatic espresso machine with lattes and cappuccinos.
I met with the hiring manager, the QA team lead, and one of their established QA analysts. They asked questions about how I work, handle stress, stay organized, lead teams, and I had the opportunity to ask them my questions.
After this, I went with the QA analyst and he showed me what the job entails. He did a great job of explaining it, and it definitely made me feel like this would be a role I would enjoy and be successful in.
After this, I had a one-on-one with the hiring manager and she had two short assignments for me, primarily concerning call flows and testing IVRs. My biggest regret about this interview was that I scheduled it so it butted up to a work meeting I had. I only had 15-20 minutes to do the assignments, and I was racing to hurry up and finish. It wasn't my best work. (I had allotted three hours for this interview, and I needed three and a half hours. I always ask a ton of questions, so YMMV.)
𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙑𝙀𝙍𝘽𝘼𝙇 𝙊𝙁𝙁𝙀𝙍:
About a week after my final interview, I received a call from the hiring manager with an offer. The offer was $15k less than the number the HR recruiter had given me. I really wish I had known what the real range was before I continued all the interviews. I asked the manager if there was any wiggle room, and she reached out to me a few days later with a small increase that I greatly appreciated. I accepted even though that offer was less than I currently make. (I really liked this company, the people I'd be with, and it felt like a company I would be happy at and grow with for years.) I was told HR would reach out with a written offer.
𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙒𝙍𝙄𝙏𝙏𝙀𝙉 𝙊𝙁𝙁𝙀𝙍:
HR reached out in about a week with an official job offer letter and an overview of insurance benefits. The PTO was lower than what I needed. I have a teenage daughter who dances ballet professionally, and she's dancing for two weeks in London in July. I needed 10 days for the remainder of the year, and they were offering seven. I asked if there was any chance we could up the PTO, which is something I frequently inquire about in salary negotiations. Some companies can be flexible; some companies have a strict policy of not making any exceptions. HR said they would ask and get back to me next day. I figured the worst-case scenario would be that I'd need to ask to take a few days off without pay.
𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙊𝙁𝙁𝙀𝙍, 𝙍𝙀𝙎𝘾𝙄𝙉𝘿𝙀𝘿:
The next day, I received a polite email from HR that they were formally rescinding my offer.
𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙏𝘼𝙆𝙀𝘼𝙒𝘼𝙔𝙎:
• Start video interviews with your camera off just in case nobody else has their camera on.
• Allow four hours for in-person interviews, just in case.
• If you're ever in a position where you don't have time to take assessments, consider asking to take them home and returning them as soon as you can get to it that day or perhaps ask to come back to do them.
• This was a great reminder that job negotiations go both ways. It's not often that a company rescinds an offer, but it does happen. What you're asking for needs to be important enough that if the negotiations disintegrate, you're okay with that. I was okay with it.
𝙈𝙔 𝙊𝙋𝙄𝙉𝙄𝙊𝙉:
Mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was excited about the role, and so it felt awful to have an offer rescinded. On the other hand, I'm extremely relieved to not be taking a pay cut. I never would've applied for this role if I'd known how low the offer would be. That said, I really connected with USAN's mission and their people. I would love to help them achieve excellence in the CCaaS sphere if the compensation could be in line with what I already make in similar roles.
Footnote: In case you're wondering why I didn't just ask to work remotely for a few days from the UK, this is not an option with USAN. They work with personal client information, and this information needs to only be accessed from the US in order to meet compliance requirements. This is common.
