The first interview had no surprises, very standard. When the question of salary arose, I was told that "it depends on your location" line, rather than disclosing a concrete salary range as is now encouraged as standard — when surely this information would be decided in advance of opening the role. The second round was with a potential future colleague as well as another HR rep,which felt a bit unnecessary. I didn't get the sense that I could fully connect with my potential future colleague since they were being monitored by HR In the third round, the hiring manager focused largely on questions not directly related to the role, and in turn, didn't provide any opportunities for me to discuss relevant qualifications or experiences. We didn't click, and it wasn't a surprise at all when *over a month later* I was declined for the job due to lacking the relevant experience I have, and which the hiring manager failed to ask about. In the meantime, I was asked to take on some freelance work while they decided, which never came. I'd be embarrassed if I were responsible for a hiring process this sloppy.

They reached out to me on LinkedIn because of my experience in the field. I agreed to a first interview, even though the job description already felt odd since it listed what looked like six different roles rolled into one. Still, I was curious. I spent about 50 minutes walking them through my background, which aligns almost entirely with what they claimed to be looking for: a strategist who can build a full funnel and handle content at every stage. The interviewer, however, seemed unprepared. I got little to no information about the workplace, team size, workload, or what a typical day looks like. Most of my questions were met with “I’m not sure” or “I don’t know.” Even though they said my experience matched their needs, I received an email the next day saying they were looking for someone with more seniority, which doesn’t line up with the feedback I got during the interview. Honestly, it feels like they passed because they’re trying to fill a senior role while offering less than 30K.