A former colleague of mine who was working for AP at the time highly recommended me for a temporary position they needed filled. It was during the pandemic and I had been laid off. A member of the recruitment team reached out to me to set up an initial interview. I had been told that two people would be on the call and that it was an initial, casual, get-to-know-me interview. I’m always prepared and professional, but the type of interview can dictate your approach. And remember, this was a short term gig. I was stepping in to help out while someone was on maternity leave. Long story short, an additional (I’m guessing senior) team member added herself to the interview at the last minute. From the start, she commandeered the interview. She was aggressive, rude, and unbelievably condescending. I was taken aback by her behavior but quietly listened to her rant in a very self-important and one-sided way. The original interviewers barely said a thing. I never heard back. Ghosted! Not that I would have accepted the position. Talk about red flag! But I’m dumbfounded at the level of vitriol. Interviews should be respectful from both sides. It’s a two-way street!

Oh, dear. I found out after I was hired that two out of three people who interviewed me were sick and tired of doing my job as well as their own, and wanted nothing to do with my assignments. (They were working on established projects - I was hired for a future academic product.) But the manager knew nothing about briefing or reviewing creative. I spent about four minutes with her so this wasn't obvious until I'd been hired.