My experience interviewing for the role of Solutions Architecture Manager of Field Engineering was deeply disappointing and highly unprofessional. An adversarial tone was set within the first 10 seconds of the call.
After joining and exchanging initial greetings, I paused briefly to make sure audio is fine and for him to lead the session. He immediately snapped with, "Go on, go on..." — I wasn't sure if I wasn't audible or what he really meant by "go on, go on", but seemingly misinterpreting my brief pause for his leadership as a refusal to engage in small talk — before adding, "okay, you don't want to chat, that's fine. I will go right to the questions."
Throughout the interview, his attitude remained dismissive and combative, conducting the call with an air of intense arrogance. At one point, he went so far as to bluntly state that my answers were a monologue and that he wanted to end the meeting entirely.
Furthermore, he repeatedly badgered me about why I had applied for the role given my lack of specific pre-sales experience—a detail that was completely transparent on my resume before his team chose to invite me to interview. Despite my extensive tenure in the industry and decades of experience collaborating with hundreds of vendors, he used highly condescending analogies to dismiss my background.
Despite the constant provocation, I intentionally maintained my calm and composure, choosing not to react to his hostile, on-the-spot feedback in order to finish the meeting professionally.
Advice to Management:
Train your senior leadership team on basic candidate etiquette and professional communication. A title like "Director" should come with a baseline level of emotional intelligence and the ability to conduct a respectful, collaborative conversation.
