Overall, the interview process was fine. After an initial phone call, there were 4 interviews. Initially they were to be scheduled together, but it ended up being a situation where you had to get through one to get to the next. Everyone on the team was very nice & easy to talk to. Some of them were more personable and chatty, some were down to business ready to grill you. After all 4 interviews were in the bag, I received an email that I’d hear from them soon. I replied to that email graciously, shared my excitement, and shared that I did receive another offer from another company. I let them know I’d love to have an idea of their timeline on decision making so that I can be fair and respectful to the other company (and myself). I followed up 1 additional time. I finally withdrew after 1 week of no reply (mind you, interviews and comms up until this point were extremely quick!).
Ultimately, this was a 6 month contract role and the vibe was that the company wanted me to display my loyalty to them without an offer and without a full time role even being on the table. My last interviews heavily focused on my future plans and if I would plan to stay in the next 1-2+ years if hired after the contract portion. I felt it spoke volumes of the company’s culture if they expected loyalty from a candidate who they were hiring for a 6 month contract. Even with the opportunity to be hired on after the contract, the company should not expect candidates to be loyal to them if they specifically stated their reason for the contract role was to see if it’s a good fit before hiring.
I wish them the best in their future and much success of the company, but do believe everything happens for a reason. Hopefully whoever filled the role is valued & given the same loyalty that they are expected to have!