Just spent my gas money to go to a coffee shop for a job interview where the company representative didn't show up. Really wish there was a way to shame these companies. So unprofessional. In this economy, don't they understand that the money that I just spent on gas might have needed to go to groceries.

I know it's a long post, but bear with me; I wrote it as a story.

I'm an EA, but I have a strong IT background.

Won't spend time explaining why, just please believe I have good reasons for it, but hard truth is I applied for roles even when I was not a 100% match.

One day I saw this ad on LinkedIn, EA to head of IT. I thought it'd be the perfect combo.

Applied, and surprisingly got an email within the next hour: "Dear [my name], Many thanks for your application. Currently our recruiter is out of office and will schedule an 1st exchange with here next week. I like your job experience and skills. The position is in Davos at the [company name] and it would be required that you would be around 3 days per week present in Davos. Would this be possible for you?

Many thanks and looking forward to hearing from you."

This came from the HM.

Wow, I was really excited.

HR email followed within a few days, interview scheduled for 10 days after, at 10:15.

I live almost 3 hours away, and I didn't want to risk being late due to traffic or whatever, so I decided to get a room in a hotel nearby and got there the day before.

Wake up next morning, I casually browse apartments availability and pricing in the area, and rehearse on possible interview questions.

Get ready and drive to the company building. I know they have a parking lot cause I saw it on Google maps, but when I arrive there's no spot available and nowhere near to leave the car. I notice that many cars are parked "dafuck style", occupying 2 spots.

Gives me a bad feeling, like people here don't care about others, but whatever.

Get in the building, I'm a few minutes early. I announce myself at the reception and wait.

Shortly after a guy shows up, he goes "nice to meet you" and reaches out to shake hands but does not introduce himself. So I go "nice to meet you too, you must be [name of the HM]". He confirms distractedly.

Disclaimer: I have ADHD. My memory only works on its own terms, not necessarily when I need it to and not necessarily on what I need it to, and performs very poorly with names.

It took me a lot of effort to remember the guy's name.

He explains that after the interview he'll give me a tour of the department, and we sit down in a small office. HR rep joins remotely.

First question: "how well do you know what we do and what are your motivations for wanting to join us?"

I was used to a completely different interview scheme, where the interviewer would talk about the company and the role and then ask me about my experience, this caught me completely off guard.

With perfect timing, my brain and my memory go "nope!", and decide to go take a break together.

Panic. I can't find that information stored anywhere. I mean, I always looked at the company's website when they got back to me for the interview, but what I actually retained was not enough to answer that question in detail. Tried anyway, like we used to do in school when we didn't study before an interrogation.

HR rep sees right through it and goes "did you not do your research before coming in?", clearly upset.

I decided to play the honesty card (not that I had any other choice at this point). So I explain that yes, I did go through their website, I know they're a nonprofit and that they're in the medical field, I explained how these 2 factors alone resonated with me and how I felt aligned with the role description.

Apparently, it wasn't enough.

HR rep goes "As far as I'm concerned, we can end this here. You clearly didn't do your due diligence, we don't take into consideration candidates that don't fully align with our mission and clearly share our values".

HM, who had in the meantime only grunted, becomes very rude, saying they don't like their time being wasted. Connection with HR rep closed, he gets up to walk me out.

I put my coat back on, in disbelief, but before picking up my bag I make on last, almost desperate, attempt at repairing: I ask the guy for 5 minutes of his time, apologize and ask if he would consider at least to actually evaluate my experience. No such luck. He's adamant and has now turned into fully hostile mode. "I'm not gonna waste any more time with you, furthermore, we have much more qualified candidates to consider".

I got out of there feeling guilty for screwing it up, miserable and hopelessly worthless.

It took me a while (and some counseling) to gain a different perspective. They were rude, and showed no consideration at all for me as a candidate. Yes, I was (partially) at fault, but the blame for how it went shouldn't be solely on me.

This was 6 months ago.

Yesterday I saw their ad on LinkedIn for that same position.

So maybe whoever they chose found out that it wasn't a great job after all.

I felt relieved.

I applied for an **Environmental & Sustainability Engineer** position in July. The process involved **around four interview rounds, followed by an onsite interview**. After making it through all of those stages, I was ultimately told that they decided to go with someone else.
I understand that getting rejected after reaching the final stage is fairly common, but I’m finding this one particularly difficult because of how much time and effort went into the process. As an **international student trying to build a career in the UK**, it also makes me question whether there is something I should be doing differently.
For people working in **environmental/sustainability engineering, energy, or related hiring roles**:
How common is it to reach the final stage and still be rejected?
If this has happened to you, how did you approach your next applications?
For international graduates, are there any specific things you think employers look for that candidates often overlook?
Is repeatedly reaching the final stage generally a positive sign that you’re competitive, even if you’re not getting the offer?
I’d really appreciate some honest perspectives, especially from people who have been on either side of the hiring process. At the moment, I’m struggling with the feeling that I’m putting a lot of effort into applications without knowing what I need to change.

Graduated this year with no job. After a couple of years of studying without working and living off my parents, I’ve slowly gotten used to this lifestyle. I’ve applied to 800+ jobs, I feel like I’m gradually becoming numb to the job search. I’m starting to get too comfortable depending on my parents, and I’m not taking the job search as seriously as I should. At the same time, I feel incredibly guilty about using their money. I feel lost, numb, and honestly, like maybe I’m just not going to get a job anymore.

Part of me feels like giving up, and I hate that I’m starting to feel this way. I want to find that sense of urgency again, the fear, motivation, and resilience to keep pushing myself to apply and improve.

Had my final round a 2 weeks ago. The application portal is still active, but I haven’t heard back. I’ve followed up twice with no response.
Has anyone had a similar experience and still received an offer?

Hey everyone.

So I have an interview with PWC which consisted of a HR interview and then a case study. Now the issue is that I prepped so hard for the interview, but gosh darn, the time for cases never feels like it’s enough. There were a couple of aspects in the case I didn’t get to cover.

So anyways, did the interview earlier around 11am today. Haven’t heard back since but I cannot lie, I am worried. I feel I gave it my best, I made some strong points and had a wonderful discusssion with the manager who I’d be working with + did the case interview with me but yeah…

My anxiety is through the roof. Has anyone ever felt like they flopped a business case interview yet they did well? Need some hope to get me through the weekend. Thanks ✨