I initially applied online, and reached out to a contact to be connected to the hiring manager for the role to learn more.
I was offered a formal interview. The interview offer was in a calendar invite for the next day at 8am with context in the calendar invite stating a list of times (not the next day at 8am) to confirm my availability and asking for 2 writing samples. I was initially very confused and alarmed by the ask for pre-work less than 24 hours before the calendar invite. I immediately responded with my availability, and when I asked to clarify about the 8am calendar invite, my question was ignored and my interview time was confirmed for later in the week. I then had to request the Teams link to be resent because it was missing from the initial confirmation email.
I then submitted the 2 prework writing samples the day before the interview and confirmed via email with the hiring manager my interview for the following day.
On the day of the interview, I logged into Microsoft Teams 5 minutes before the interview and waited for it to begin. After 5 minutes past the interview start time, I emailed the hiring manager directly and stated that I was on Teams for the interview ready to go. I then waited on Teams with no one logging in for the scheduled time. I also called the office directly, and I was sent to voicemail where I let the hiring manager know that I was waiting for an interview on Teams and concerned about what was going on. I felt disappointed that the effort I put into the pre-work and my time carved out to attend the interview were disrespected without any follow up communication. Finally, I emailed my feedback to the hiring manager and formally withdrew my application.
The hiring manager followed up with me within 10 minutes of my email, apologized for the error in scheduling, and stated that they are now making an organizational shift towards someone else handling interview scheduling. I stated that I was glad to hear about that pivot to ensure clear communication for future interviews, and I wished them the best as they continued to connect with other candidates.