My last experience as a job applicant was over 14 years ago; however, I remember most the process well. I was working for the New York Times where I wrote a couple of op-ed (opposite the editorial page) pieces. One article piqued the interest of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), so I was asked to coauthor and present a paper at AERA.
After the presentation, a VP from Pearson started recruiting me. Initially, there were several meetings and phone calls. The company wanted me to do something very new with high-stakes assessments. It was an exciting prospect, so I decided to give the job a “go.”
First—the interview process. 8 different people interviewed me. They “seemed” to have behavioral questions to ask, but a few interviewers went off script with trick questions. I would give the interview process a solid C-; I was not impressed.
I received an offer; it was okay, but it was not in line with the rest of the recruitment process. I countered their offer, and they were surprised. I was ready to back out of the process because the benefits package that didn’t align with the recruitment process. I would give this part of the hiring process a D-!
There was a disconnect between what HR offered and what the hiring manager had told me would be the expected offer. I was not happy, so I started negotiating for a better benefits package.
In the end, my benefits package lived up to the initial information I had been given. Before this job opportunity, I had never been recruited. I had only applied for jobs and hoped for an interview. Though I scored the hiring processes low, the actual job and organization are awesome–regardless of the initial bumps.