A senior partnerships candidate in Dubai applied for a role at a well-known global media company, sourced through one of the world's largest recruitment firms. The advertised 30,000-a-month salary was attractive enough that she turned down other opportunities.
What followed was eight weeks of interviews, including a three-day go-to-market strategy exercise. Then came a two-week wait for traveling management. When they returned, the salary had been cut to 17,000 - and the role had been handed to a different manager overseeing a 'luxury' position instead. The process restarted from scratch: another face-to-face, the same strategy work redone, and a role-play pitching the agency's services.
Days later, she was told she had been unsuccessful. "They completely wasted my time and put me through such a tough interview process for nothing," she told Fast Company. "I'm disheartened, angry, and feel let down." The company is not named in the report.