A previous version of this review mistakenly stated my negative interactions were with the CEO because that is how an individual who interviewed me was identified to me prior to our meeting. Yardzen’s CEO reached out to me after the original review was brought to their attention, so I have updated my review to correct the title of the individual I interacted with and share some additional thoughts. After reflecting on our call, I’m glad they are taking my feedback seriously. However in retrospect, certain aspects of the call clearly indicated that their primary objective wasn’t only to understand what went wrong, but rather to do damage control. I was asked to remove or amend my review, and that they (a non BIPOC) could relate to my (BIPOC) experience. Still, I believe they do want to improve--so I am hopeful that moving forward this company will take the necessary steps to do better.
My entire interview process, consisting of a phone screen and panel interview with the Co-Founder and another leader, spanned just over a week. Everyone was generally friendly—but during my panel interview, the Co-Founder had an incredibly abrasive demeanor riddled with micro-aggressions and unprofessional statements and questions. A few days after my interview I emailed the Co-Founder to share my feedback privately, as I intended for this to be an open conversation. I waited over a week and did not receive a response, which is when I decided to write this review. After hearing that others had similar interactions with the Co-Founder, my recommendation is that the Co-Founder undergo some deep internal reflection about how they interact with BIPOC candidates and employees, as well as some intensive Diversity & Inclusion training for the company leadership and hiring practices.
- The Co-Founder started my interview repeatedly stating how much how much they respect women, support women empowerment, and that I (as a woman) would ‘fit in’ very well with the women at Yardzen. This immediate zeroing in on gender and gender based assumptions is unprofessional.
- The Co-Founder repeatedly stated with surprise (3-4 times) that I am ‘very articulate’ in reference to the example assignment I had submitted prior to the interview and my responses in real time. They also repeated multiple times that I ‘LOOK intelligent’ (not ‘seem’ or ‘am’— that I ‘look’ smart). I am a BIPOC female so there are plenty of stereotypes that go along with telling someone like me that they ‘look’ smart. These descriptors may seem innocent, except—their surprise suggests that they expected I would not be articulate or smart. I have been in the workforce for over 6 years and have never had another interviewer say such things to me.
- The Co-Founder spoke badly of my previous employer, who could also be considered a direct competitor. This was just plain unprofessional.
- At the end of the call, the Co-Founder conveyed that they were very impressed and wanted me to join the company. They offered me a salary range and asked for my thoughts. The salary was at BEST, 69% of what I knew others in this same role were making—and one of whom has less experience than I do. Of those of us with comparable background and experience, I am the only BIPOC. The Co-Founder said there were two salary bands for the role. The ‘inexperienced’ band was what they offered me. There was a higher band for “experienced” candidates (they did not disclose the salary for that band) - but it’s safe to assume that’s what others I knew were making. After this, I said I needed some time to think about it.
- The Co-Founder then blatantly asked me the salary I made in my previous job. This has been illegal to ask candidates in the state where I am located and where the position was based out of as well as in the state the Co-Founder is based out of for over a year now. Unfortunately I didn’t know this at the time, so I answered. The Co-Founder immediately walked back the offer, stating that I was clearly overqualified and shouldn’t take this role.
- The Yardzen team had access to my resume for a long time prior to this interview, so they could have seen from the start whether I was overqualified for this role based on my experience and previous roles. At minimum, they could have done a quick Google or Glassdoor search to see salary estimates for my previous role and rule me out if they knew this role paid far less, and that I was unlikely to accept.
Overall, this experience was a waste of my time. The Co-Founder, whether or not they realized it, riddled our interview with micro-aggressions as well as deeply unprofessional statements and questions. The salary was insultingly low, especially in comparison to what others in that position were making. To reiterate my earlier point, I implore the Co-Founder and the recruiting team at Yardzen to undergo diversity and inclusion training by a subject matter expert, as well as interviewing/professional communication skills training.
