I applied for the desk assistant position at the Washington DC bureau. I later received an email from a recruiter with more information about the role saying: this is an awesome opportunity for someone looking to continue working in and/or build a career in News. You’ll have a chance to learn firsthand how to gather news, assist news anchors during program tapings, and much more. These positions are staff with an end date of 18 months. I did a one-way virtual video interview, then the recruiter conducted a phone screening, and then I was interviewed by the company in a video interview. The company suggested to me to stay with my current employer telling me the following: Why won't go back to your current [name of employer] and stay there? I informed them that I was laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company then asked me Is this job going to be a repeat for you? I said no. Then, I was called back for the second-round interview via video and it was a panel interview with three people, including the one who interviewed me in the last round, and all of them are based in the NBC News Washington, DC Bureau. The panel ridiculed my tangible professional work experience and the fact that I already have real, paid professional journalism experience from another media outlet - one of their many competitors. They also ridiculed me that I dabbled in journalism, which was entirely inaccurate. The Desk Assistant Position (also known as a news assistant in other media outlets) is a position strictly for recent college students. It's not for someone who already has journalism experience in a real journalism job. The panel interviewers were not interested in my candidacy at all from the very beginning, and scoffed and felt I was overqualified and that I have already worked in the industry and had too much experience. They were disinterested/uninterested and ridicule me and what I have done in the journalism industry. I never received an email regarding the status of my candidacy. I consistently followed up with them. Six months later, NBC News announced the Desk Assistant Position was filled. I already had another job at the time the rejection email was sent to me. Subsequent experiences from the company in other job roles now filled, involved them ridiculing candidates who worked temporarily remotely due to the pandemic. If you are in local news or have tangible journalism experience elsewhere like myself, do not apply for the desk assistant role. The desk assistant role is a temporary, non-staff position with a likely salary of $15.00 to $17.00 per hour. Being a desk assistant at NBC News or any other media outlet does not mean you will get a full-time job at that company. I am glad that I did not get it and was subjected to NBCUniversal ridiculing experienced working professionals already in the industry. I never apply to NBC News ever again because of this horrific experience.