The building was completely locked on arrival, making it feel like I was breaking in for my interview whilst instructions for arrival were non-existent. Unfriendly atmosphere. The person leading the interview made little effort at small talk, and forgot to introduce themselves for the first five minutes. In fact, they started the formal questions with virtually zero warning, giving no chance to ease into the process. If anyone reading this has an upcoming interview for Middlesbrough Council I would highly recommend contacting them first to discuss travel expenses. Asking them after the interview, they said travel expenses could only be covered in "exceptional circumstances" and must be arranged "before a candidate agreed to travel to the interview". This is unacceptable when other councils are perfectly willing to do this and alternatives like Zoom are available. The only redeeming factor was the useful written feedback I received afterwards, but the interview was still ultimately a waste of time and money.