Unprofessional all across the board. I should've known something was fishy when I saw the same position get reposted online several times within a 4 month period, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Now I know why it was reposted several times, and hopefully you will too by the end of reading what I have to say.
I get a voicemail from the recruiter saying they'd like to interview me for the position and to check my email. I check my email and the only new email I see is "left voicemail, please respond". Um, what? To add to the confusion, there is NO mention of First American AT ALL in the email. I literally had no idea I was being contacted by someone from First American. I only figured it out because of the email address. What a horrible first impression, it just shows how unorganized they are. Unfortunately, it gets worse. I provide my availability and a phone interview is setup with the hiring manager and 2 other people.
This interview was FILLED with red flags! When talking about my background, I mention how team oriented it is and how there is never a day I'm working alone. The hiring manager proceeds to step on me by saying "yah well, there will be a lot of times where you don't know what the do and the team won't be there to support or help you. How would you deal with the stress?" I was completely SHOCKED. In those few seconds of silence, I heavily contemplated ending the call right then and there. How toxic does the environment have to be for you to bluntly admit that you wont have proper support by your team (this is an entry level position btw)?
Alas, I kept it going. Then one of the other interviewers on the line mentions that they used to work at one of my companies I used to work at 2 years ago. He then asks me, "What are the risks that [company I used to work at] face?" Uhhhhh wtf? Does this guy think I do SWOT analyses just for fun for the companies I worked at in the PAST?!? I have no clue dude! Why on earth would I freely know that?!
When I was asking questions toward the end, I asked if they have any training and development programs in place for their employees (continuing education, certification reimbursements, etc). The guy gave me a little bit of attitude and told me I'm in charge of my own development and First American will rarely reimburse you for those costs. Then he proceeds to somewhat belittle me and say that he doesn't expect the candidate for this position to need any training and development whatsoever and that they should be hitting the ground running on Day 1 (again, this is an entry level position).
Safe to say, I did not move forward. Thank God. What an absolute mess this organization this. It's no surprise why it was reposted several times; if I can tell from an interview how toxic this place is, then whichever poor chap was hired into the position must've quickly experienced that too. I highly suggest you don't even waste your time applying.