The Oakleaf Group Interview Questions
& Process

I applied on the company website and also directly to the CEO. The HR contacted me saying my CV would be deleted because she handles all incoming resumes and makes hiring decisions. However, the CEO liked my background. She scheduled calls that were supposed to be an hour long, but she ended the first one after 20 minutes, citing another appointment. She called me back 40 minutes later, stating this was her only free time. A meeting with the CEO and COO was then arranged at the office. The HR mentioned these meetings were just formalities and that her decision was final. I spoke with the COO and CEO for nearly an hour. Afterward, I was informed my experience was strong, but as she had previously indicated, HR preferred a younger female candidate for the role. Following this, I received a standard rejection email.

I spoke with the Director of Recruiting and Director of HR initially. Then, I had conversations with 3 other Recruiters on the team, who were really helpful and answered all my questions. My initial feeling was positive, like I could see myself working with everyone I met.

After applying, I got a message to schedule a phone interview. The interviewer was a few minutes late, which was fine. When they finally called, they asked me to talk about myself and my experience and how it relates to the role. I explained clearly, but I started to feel some aggression. Then, they began to aggressively criticize my resume, pointing out what I didn't have on it. It made me wonder why they even scheduled the interview if they thought I wasn't qualified. They criticized things I should have had for the role and said my resume should have been formatted differently. As a professional with ten years of experience, I can't put every possible relevant detail on my resume. I felt like they didn't understand anything I was saying, or even the industry we are in. For instance, when I used a common acronym, they responded defensively. After I mentioned my VBA experience, they asked if I had experience with Excel. After criticizing my resume, they went silent, expecting me to say something or perhaps apologize. I eventually asked them to repeat their question, and they angrily said they had enough information and hung up. It was a very bizarre interview.

I applied for this role twice in a year and had the same experience both times. I got an initial phone screen and the recruiter said I'd get an interview invite in a week or two. After two weeks with no word, I followed up and was told they were moving on with other candidates. This happened both times.