The initial phone screen with the HR person was as expected. Based on my experience he quickly moved me to the next round which was a Skype call with the relatively new hiring manager, which took place about a week later. Despite what I had read on Glassdoor, I was excited about the potential and spent much time preparing. What I encountered however was something I was not prepared for.
The hiring manager has been with the company for just 3 months and based on his online profile, has had several roles with 3 different companies in the past 8 years, which is not uncommon in today's world. For that reason I was surprised by his line of questioning which was almost entirely about why I left this job or that job. He was more focused on why I left my prior jobs than he was in what I've accomplished during my 30-year career. He was so condescending, suggesting at one point that it seemed that I didn't understand what their product was.
Yes, I've been downsized in the past and took a chance by accepting a role with a startup that lasted 4 months, but in between all that I've had some great success with a couple of Fortune 100 companies. In other words, I have definitely been a solid contributor to my employer and have enjoyed some professional success. Yet for some reason this guy wanted to focus solely on the negatives of my career.
A few days later I followed-up with the HR person with whom I had dealt and explained that I was not interested in pursuing the position any further, solely because of the treatment I received from this hiring manager. I went on to explain that the recruiter will have a hard time filling that role if other candidates have the same experience with this hiring manager. He represents the company, and based on my experience with him, I would have no interest in working for this company.
UPDATE -- I received a very nice response from the manager of talent acquisition who apologized for the negative experience. Based on her response, I do believe that the talent acquisition team works hard to ensure a positive candidate experience. Now if only they can get this hiring manager on board with that thinking.