Beware. Poor communication. I didn't even get to speak face-to-face to the hiring manager.
TLDR:
Applied to a nearby branch and passed phone screening. A week later, received an interview invite only to learn it would be held 45km away at short notice, the very next day. Tried to reschedule to a time that fit better, but communication from staff was confusing and dismissive. Despite being offered flexible slots initially, was later told only one was valid, and declining it meant losing consideration for the role. Felt let down by inconsistent info and unprofessional attitude. Ultimately chose not to proceed, feeling the company's actions didn’t reflect the values they claim to uphold.
FULL, DETAILED VERSION:
I applied to a branch about 5 kilometres away. I got a phone call with a lovely person asking the usual screening questions to see if I am eligible for the interview stage. It goes well and I am told to expect a call within the next few days to schedule an interview.
One week passes.
I finally get the call in the afternoon and am asked to come in for a group interview the very next day. I am offered three time slots for a group interview: morning, noon and afternoon. I chose a time slot that I thought would work with the prior commitments I had based on how far away the location I applied to was. After choosing, I was told the group interview would be held at a location about 45 kilometres away from the original store I applied to. Being relatively new to the area, I was unaware of how far the interview location actually was, and only had time to discover this after the interview offer call had ended.
I decided to call back within the hour after the first call to request a change in time slot that worked with my prior commitments. It turned out to be a number for the store location it was being held at and was put through the dialing system requesting to speak with the store manager.
The phone rang for a few seconds, and suddenly it stopped ringing and dropped the call. I thought this was odd, and maybe they were just busy, so I waited 10 minutes and called again.
The phone rang longer than the first callback. Someone different picked up and did not introduce themselves by name. I introduced myself, explained the situation, and asked if I could speak to the person I previously called, though I didn’t mention her name. This other person on the line was very curt and said no, she had left for the day. Which was again, odd, because typically one wouldn’t expect anyone to leave during the time of day I called back, and I didn’t mention by name who I spoke to. I then asked this other person if I could switch to the time slot that worked best for me so I could still attend an interview, and again was met with a terse response. The other person said the hiring manager wouldn’t be in during the other time slot I requested, despite it explicitly being an option offered by the first person to contact me about scheduling the interview. They continued that if I were not able to attend the previously scheduled slot, I would simply not be considered for the role if I did not attend.
Wow. While I thanked the other person for their time and said if that was the case, I wouldn’t attend the interview, I hung up and felt something wasn’t right there. Facts were not lining up with the other person, and the overall nature I took from this other person was very ungracious. I don’t want to accuse anyone of anything, but I feel almost sabotaged from being able to be considered for the role because of the hiring team’s and staff’s inability to communicate properly.
I considered calling 30 minutes before the morning time slot to see if I could catch the hiring manager and request a change then, but after sleeping on it, I decided the next day to just avoid at all costs.
If this is the way they treat potential hires, then I don’t want to be a part of the company, despite them touting their core values of quality, integrity, teamwork and community. This experience does not appear to align with any of those values, so reader, be careful and advocate for yourself if you are considering employment here.