I was invited to interview by a recruiter, and they scheduled the initial screening call a couple of days later based on our mutual availability. I'll start by acknowledging that I may have been a bit rusty; it had been a while since I interviewed, and in hindsight, it likely wasn’t the right fit regardless. I’m truly okay with that. That said, a few aspects of the experience gave me pause: From the start of the call, it didn’t feel like the recruiter was fully present or engaged. I'll chalk that up to maybe a bad day - we all have them. More concerning, however, was the response I received when I asked about company culture, the team, and DEI. When I asked how Nordstrom prioritizes DEI, I was told they support small businesses and was referred to their website. The answer felt vague and dismissive, and it didn’t instill confidence that I’d be supported as an employee. When I inquired further about the team culture, I was told the recruiter “didn’t know people individually,” and the rest of the response didn’t offer any meaningful insight. Overall, there appeared to be a notable lack of transparency and preparedness in describing the company environment, something that stood out as a concern. Additionally, although the role was posted with a salary range, I shared a desired range within that window and was informed it was too far outside the team's range. I don’t subscribe to the idea that candidates/employers should play games around pay; my range is what it is, and I state it with intention and honesty. Again, it was also within their stated range, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise. Pay transparency is intended to create clarity and build trust, not cause more confusion in an already opaque process, so this was quite disappointing. All of these signals combined left me with the impression that the lack of transparency may be a deeper, systemic issue. For that reason, I’m not at all disappointed that the process didn’t move forward.