Disorganized process, poor candidate experience, and lack of transparency.
The interview process for the Head of Content role was unnecessarily long, disorganized, and ultimately a poor experience. The process took around 1.5 months and included four rounds, as well as a fairly involved assignment.
Candidates were asked to attend multiple in-person interviews at their own expense, which is already questionable. What made this worse was that for one of these meetings, the hiring manager did not show up in person and joined online instead — despite asking me to travel to their office. This felt disrespectful and poorly planned.
During the assignment presentation, the discussion went beyond evaluating my approach and focused heavily on very specific internal production challenges. The level of detail expected required insider knowledge that a candidate simply wouldn’t have. It gave the impression that the process was being used to extract ready-to-use ideas, rather than fairly assess candidates.
Additionally, the overall picture of the organization that emerged during interviews was concerning: unclear processes, operational chaos, and a potentially high-stress environment.
After the final round, I was very confident that I would receive a job offer. I waited two weeks for feedback, only to be told that they “preferred a native Dutch speaker.” This was particularly frustrating given that:
- My background and language skills were clear from the start
- The entire process was conducted in English
- This requirement was never raised during the earlier stages
When I asked for more specific feedback, none was provided.
Overall, this was a time-consuming and costly process with little respect for the candidate experience.
Advice to Management:
Be transparent about key requirements (such as language) from the beginning. Respect candidates’ time and effort — especially when asking for assignments and in-person attendance. Structure the interview process to evaluate candidates fairly, rather than using it to solve internal problems.