The interview process was thoughtful, warm and productive. Each interviewer that I spoke with exhibited professionalism, intelligence and kindness.
The process:
The emails I received before the actual interviews were enthusiastic and cheerful. Unlike many of the places with which I interviewed, these were not robotic or automated. These felt friendly and inviting.
Moving into the first phone call with Phillomina, I felt eager to hear about the position. Speaking with her, I didn't feel like I was trying to be "sold" the position, but she also didn't seem indifferent. Like she had just done ten interviews back-to-back and was tired. I learned a lot about company and the position, and I didn't feel like another "applicant" during the entire conversation.
Next I had a call with Sara. You can really tell that she's put a lot of energy into honing her skill sets, but that she also has a polished social etiquette that reads as warm and friendly. She took the time to get to know me as a person. Aside from assessing my competency for the role, she got to know my goals, my passions and my out-of-work responsibilities. This was probably the best interview I've had in a long while and we even continued on past our stop time by quite a bit. Being in the company for a little over a week, I can tell you that nothing has changed. She's an excellent leader, and I will learn a lot from her mentorship.
After I spoke with Sara, I had an opportunity to be assessed by members of the GRC team. Layla, Frank and Shawn. Each of these people felt like different aspects of myself. I'm not trying to make this weird. They just seemed like different phases of my professional journey laid out before me. Layla is an analyst with a calm demeanor and a drive to perfect her shortcomings. I always learn something when I speak with her. Frank is a PM with ideas that could help shape the direction of the GRC department. Shawn is a compliance engineer, and likely the most down to earth human I've met.
My recommendation would be to benchmark their interview prep and process, and duplicate that across the organization. This move would most assuredly attract not only top talent, but also humans that care about other humans. Or maybe you all already do that. I haven't figured it out yet.