I honestly don't know what to say or feel. But I'm still feeling somewhat hurt over the fact that this happened.

For the very first time in my life, I was put down at an interview with the words "I don't know where's your head at, what picture are you trying to paint?"

Let me try and summarize this as easily as I could.

Yesterday, I received a call from a Hays recruiter about a potential opportunity with a prestigious finance company located at KL. I've been trying to get a job in the finance industry for a long time now, so this opportunity was godsent. Plus, because I come from a writing background, getting my foot into a bank/finance firm is a once in a lifetime thing. I made my preparations, understood the role that they were hiring for inside and out, and went in with 120%.

Prior to all that, the recruiter told me this company was looking for a content writer. I thought, okay, I have content writing experiences. I deal with real estate and have side exposure to banking jargons and the basics of it, I agreed to the interview. Yet, last night as I was making my preparations, I noticed the recruiter was sending me to the interview for a managerial position. An hour or two before the interview today, I called the recruiter and double checked if he knew the situation, he assured me that it was no big deal and again reaffirmed that they were looking for a content writer.

The interview happened at 5:30PM, it was meant to run for an hour. I got in early, turned on my video cam and eagerly introduced myself. There were 3 interviewers present - the HRBP, Hiring Manager and the Head (the one that the hiring manager reports to). So... 5 minutes into the interview, the hiring manager summed up the role, leaving me with hardly any questions to ask. I was hoping to demonstrate my knowledge of what they're looking for, but the hiring manager put my curiosity and excitement to a stop, because she had just dumped it there and then.

On top of that, the hiring manager revealed they weren't just looking for a content writer, they wanted the incumbent to specialize in content strategy, and have familiarity with google analytics. All these I am perfectly fine learning with support. The only thing I had trouble with was google analytics, which is surface level. So there were two things that went awry here - One, a misinformation. Two, I think the hiring team didn't know what they wanted.

It went from content writer --> digital marketing specialist --> content producer. I was trying to wrap my head around their expectations, trying to understand what is their game plan and approach to pushing their finance products to a bigger crowd. Everytime I asked something specific, I was getting a by the book answer "We're really open, we're looking to try." Which made it hard for me to narrow down their focus and figure out what they want.

Because they had cut short the interview, they were pestering me to get into my questions. I had a string of them, mostly aimed at understanding the state of work that the department is engaged in, followed by a few questions regarding the company/employers they were. Slowly bit by bit, I started sensing animosity from the head of department. There were 3 questions that I asked her.

1) What is your approach to social media at the moment? Are you prioritizing quantity over quality? [I was asking this because their social media posting frequencies seemed irregular, and their post followed the standard copywriting style]

The question was met a very stern rebuke along the lines of "Everything we do here is quality, let's put it that way." The HoD seemed to take offense to the question. Trigger point 1

2) Could you tell me a little about your company culture and what makes it unique?

This was met with. "I don't understand the question. What I can say is we are a team lah. We're very performance-based. And we try to keep the work-life balance intact. Trigger Point 2." At this point, I was sensing more animosity from the HoD.

3) I imagine I'll be working with you and X often, can you tell me how's your leadership style like?

Straight up, "I don't know where your head's at. What picture are you trying to paint here?" At this point I knew she was getting pissed. The recruiter had told me the HoD can be blunt but is nurturing, and I expected her to be blunt, but it was obviously clear that she's angry.

The HRBP stepped in and told me to relay further questions to my recruiter or her, and they left it at they had to see another candidate at 6.

I think all parties involved in the call knew what was going on, and there might not be a fit. I'll be surprised if they got back to me, but I doubt they would.

My point is, I've never had someone snapped at me for asking a harmless question regarding company culture and leadership styles. And while do I know I'm not at fault, I can't help but feel humiliated and regretful that I shouldn't have walked out of things as per my principles, because these days people keep saying word gets around fast.

NEVER assume that awards to a company = good culture! Take a look at the stuff Lazada posts on their linkedin, all the glamour-glamour awards, and compare with the situation on the ground on their Glassdoor and ask your friends who work there if you know any. Such a stark difference that it's honestly disturbing. It's a honey trap to lure new talent in, but once you're in then you'll see how toxic it really is.

You're pretty much just contradicting yourself.

Got award = says nothing.

Got no award = also says nothing.

So at the end of the day, the presence of an award makes no difference. So I don't think a bank having awards makes any difference, which voids your argument in essence.