I was contacted by Mellon regarding a role that appeared to be a strong fit and completed an initial recruiter interview that went well. Unfortunately, the recruiting process was disorganized, opaque, and misaligned with the Foundation’s stated humanistic values. A scheduled interview was canceled by the recruiter and not rescheduled until I proactively followed up. After the interview, I sent a thoughtful thank-you and later a professional follow-up, neither of which received any response. The process ultimately concluded via an automated rejection email, with no direct communication or closure. Rejection itself is not the issue. The issue is that for an organization grounded in the humanities and publicly committed to thoughtful, relational work, the candidate experience was transactional and dismissive. Candidates were treated as administrative entries rather than people who had invested time and care in the process. I think this would have gone a lot different if I actually had the opportunity to interact with senior leadership who I would be working with, who could assess both skill and personality fit. Mellon’s mission and grantmaking work are compelling, but the hiring process did not reflect the same level of rigor, respect, or humanity. Advice to Management: Recruiting should be an extension of institutional values. Basic communication, follow-through, and accountability would significantly improve the candidate experience and better align hiring practices with the Foundation’s public ethos. Advice to candidates: don’t get your heart set on it early. The reality didn’t meet the expectations and values I assumed.

It was a series of interviews across multiple teams which was helpful to get an idea of the work. People were kind and forthcoming with sharing details about their own experience.