I felt compelled to write this following my experience with Portman Finance. Unfortunately, it was extremely poor. I attended my third stage interview for the Senior Marketing Executive role, feeling genuinely excited about the opportunity, but I left feeling completely disheartened and quite crushed. I’m 32 years old, have worked across several organisations, and hold a Master’s degree, yet I have never left an interview feeling as unsettled as I did after this one. I personally found the way I was spoken to by the COO to be disappointing, and it was something I had never experienced before. I personally felt it came across in a way that detracted from a constructive exchange. I understand the intention may have been to assess how I perform under pressure, but in my opinion, this is not what happened. Shortly after the interview, I found myself in tears, and it affected me for the rest of the day. That is not something I have ever experienced following a professional interaction, which speaks to the impact the conversation had. I understand that I may not have been the right fit, and I fully respect that, but I do feel the experience could have been handled with a greater level of care and professionalism. That said, I want to highlight that Saul and the wider marketing team were excellent. I really appreciated how thorough and engaging they were throughout the process, and that part of the experience was genuinely positive. I hope this feedback encourages a more respectful experience for future candidates.