I applied online and couple of days later I was approached by Manager of the Finance practice. It was a 2 minute telephonic discussion where I was asked about why I am interested for Michael Page and if I could meet them in the following week. I met the Manager where I was told that they would be considering me for an Associate Consultant Role that I wouldn't fit for client facing from day 1. To this, I told them that I would need some time to make up my mind since I came with different expectations. Having worked for client facing roles for five years, this appeared to be uncomfortable at the first go. I hoped the recruiter would understand. We agreed and was told I would hear from them the next day to have my thoughts. I didn't get any call and meantime I made my mind and was keen to be evaluated further. I wrote back to them with my interest, reached them on the deskphones that were never picked. After fifteen days of keeping me in dark, I finally get a response from them( again on a followup email that I did) that they would not take forward my candidature. As a executive search specialists, I am amazed that this is the kind of candidate experience. The Hiring Manager seemed to be full of air about her MBA( not even Tier-1 making her unfit as per their own eligibility criteria) and it appeared that that I put her off when I asked for some time. This is saddening for Page group that their specialists who help CXO's with their search lack empathy for their own prospective candidates.