The process began with an initial phone screening with a in-house recruiter, but due to technical issues we weren’t able to get through much. About thirty minutes later, the hiring manager (who would have been my direct supervisor) contacted me via phone call without advance notice and asked if I had time to talk briefly. That unplanned call turned into basically a formal interview, where he asked structured questions such as why I chose Geosyntec, my five-year goals, how I handle workload, etc. I was not expecting a full interview at that moment and had no preparation. After the call, he requested an in-person interview within a week. This would have required taking PTO, which is normal, but when I asked to reschedule due to personal circumstances, he insisted that only one specific day would work for him. During the earlier conversations, he also stated the company might not be able to meet my salary expectations (despite my range being reasonable for my experience) and implied a very demanding work culture, including last-minute travel, along with several red flags that suggested he had a micromanaging style. One significant concern was that he asked to see my official college transcripts, including grades, and asked to contact a couple references... even though I had not received nor accepted, this was not part of a background check, and had not even completed a final interview. Given my professional experience, this felt unnecessary and very out of place at that stage of the process, which was another red flag. Before the in-person interview occurred, I received an offer from another company with better compensation, benefits, and overall alignment, and i am extremely happy i did. I notified him that I had accepted another opportunity and needed to cancel the interview. He responded by asking if he had done anything wrong during the process and inquiring which company and position I accepted. I chose not to respond.