In short
Pro:
- everyone I had a call with was very kind
- those who were from the department I've been interviewing for knew everything about the position and were able to answer all of my questions
- people outside of that department were kind and honest about the company
Overall, the "technical" part of the interview was perfect and they gave me enough time to "interview them" properly and get all of the information I've needed to make a decision
- the recruiter on their side was nice and open about most of the things, should be an example for others
Con:
- no one really knew how many interview rounds are left
- people from HR weren't rude at all, but the overall experience with them wasn't that pleasant. People are usually saying that they feel like a "number on a paper'. This was exactly like that!
Longer description:
Initially on the first call with the recruiter we discussed the requirements on both sides before moving forward with anything. I gave an interval for my salary expectation, he said that If I'll be willing to go down ~5-10% on it, then this will work. I said sure, let's keep the discussion open about it during the process, but I also said that a certain salary level is a hard requirement on my side.
I moved forward, had a few calls. After each call I've got an invite for the next one. Had about 1-2 a week for 3 weeks. On the fourth call I asked how many rounds are there usually. The answer was it really depends, and the company usually tries to make these rounds different with an opportunity to have a call with a lot of different people from different departments, so the candidate will be able to see how the firm works on the wider level, not just in the smaller circle of the actual role.
The next - 5th - round was with HR. This was more of a formal thing to get my official details and to discuss the salary expectation. As I was very happy and motivated to take the role, I lowered my salary interval a bit to fit the numbers I initially discussed with the recruiter. They wrote it down but there wasn't any response on it. Also, they asked for my current salary, but I said it shouldn't be relevant.
After a week they called to discuss two questions. First, they asked me to tell them honestly what the lowest offer would be where I would still take the job. Since I was motivated to fill the role, I told them just a slightly smaller number as before as that was really the bottom limit for me. I wasn't really running from my current position, but when I saw a great opportunity, I thought why not.... They asked again for my current salary. I was like "why not...doesn't really matter" so I told it to them. The lady said they will prepare the offer now which I should expect in a few days. After a few days someone called again to verbally walk me through the offer and then send it out officially. The final offer was below my "last price" by ~10%. If I sum up the complete package in that offer and the one I have at my current position, thid diff barely gets me anywhere.
I was a bit pissed as I spent time on interviews from November and ended up with an offer in January which is well below than what we discussed on the initial call. If they would have said that this position won't be able to provide what I'm asking for, I would have turned it down at that point (as I did with other positions they offered before) and save a lot of time for them and for me as well.