In July, I had applied for a similar role within the organization's IT department. After an initial interview with their recruiter, and a portion of the hiring staff, I was not chosen to move forward in the hiring process for that role.
However, in August/September, the organization listed a Service Desk Analyst role as a Level I position. I initially did not review the listing close enough to catch this before applying; most of my recent experience is considered Level II/III work. I reached out to the recruiter to advise her that after reviewing the job description, I wanted to remove myself from consideration.
The job listing was then re-tooled and re-listed on major online job websites to add some senior-level duties, where team mentoring and escalation management would be handled by this individual. The job description became much more desirable to me and more in-line with previous work experience(s). With the added job duties, I was also able to somewhat piece together a vision of advancing within the organization, which made it appear that one day in the near future, I would have the ability to ascend out of the lower-level support world.
The process was long and drawn out, this was partially expected due to the COVID pandemic, and also was explained by the organization during the process. This process of explanation was never provided by any other employers, and gave me the idea that the organization was putting a personal touch on it in explaining why they need to be thorough and detailed aside from the obvious reasons why. It showed more class than the rest of the field in my opinion.
The first contact was a phone screen - a short conversation between myself and the recruiter where we were now somewhat familiar with each other due to previous contact. The recruiter verified my interest and noted the re-tooling of the role. The recruiter then scheduled an interview with the hiring team staff, and a 2:1 panel interview took place. Interview questions ranged from technical to personality inquiries. The third step was an assessment test, where positive feedback was received. The fourth step included a 4:1 panel interview comprised management and associates within the core IT staff. Questioning again ranged from personality to technical inquiries. The fifth step was a 1:1 with the department director. This acted as more of a personality interview. The sixth and final step was a 1:1 with the CIO. The CIO was very warm, personable, and set some of my anxiety about the role at ease. Her emphasis on the process was to gauge the cultural fit between the candidate and the organization.
I received a follow-up phone call a few days later advising me that an offer was being extended. I promptly accepted the offer after full review.