This is the first time I’ve had a negative experience with a recruiter. The recruiter set up a screening interview and then never called me at our scheduled time. After waiting twenty minutes I sent an email and two hours later she responded that the ATS had put the meeting into her spam folder. We rescheduled for a few days later and when we spoke she was not very friendly and didn't seem to listen to my responses. After asking me three questions she said I didn’t have tech experience and I couldn’t handle a fast paced company. That it would be “a tough learning curve for me”. None of these things were true. Basically she was implying that I was too old and it was an issue that I had taken some time off from work. I don’t mind answering questions about how I would handle a fast paced environment or getting back to work, but I didn’t appreciate her assumptions. I’ve interviewed at other tech companies in San Francisco and had positive experiences. I was really excited about the position and Zendesk, but this felt like a waste of my time.

Applied via internal referral, was contacted for a first round recruiter interview about a week later. Spoke with the recruiter for 30 minutes and had a really great conversation. She asked me to hold time later in the week to meet with the hiring manager. Never heard from her again even after following up.