I had 6 interviews over a few month timeframe. Everyone I met with was very friendly and spoke positively about their experience working for SEI. I mainly went in with an open mind, as they reached out to me vs me to them. By the 3-4th interview, I bought in and could see myself working with the team. I did my case study, got positive feedback and thought I nailed it. Had done many executive presentations to leadership over years as a manager and product lead. The end of the process was abrupt and unexpected. I got the vibe in retrospect I was in a pipeline to nowhere, or their budget dried up and they were just phishing for talent. Overall a positive experience and everyone was super cool. I originally just went in for the practice. I compare this experience to dating the homecoming queen for 2 months, then she emails you saying "its not you, it's me". Process just fizzled out with no constructive feedback. That part disappointing.

It was apparent from the start of the conversation that the interviewer had already determined I was not a fit. The interviewer did not introduce herself or provide any meaningful overview of the role, and repeatedly emphasized being short on time. The conversation consisted of only a few surface-level questions, with no effort to explore how my experience might translate to the position. As a candidate, I would have appreciated that being communicated directly rather than proceeding with a rushed and performative discussion. When I asked about the role itself, the interviewer stated directly that there are "no deliverables". From a business standpoint, work without defined deliverables is simply a drain on resources with no way to measure value or progress toward client goals. For an operations-focused role, that was a remarkable thing to hear from someone conducting the interview. As someone with extensive experience running a business and leading hiring processes, the lack of structure, preparation, and engagement suggested that operations expertise is greatly needed here — though the interview process did not reflect an ability to effectively evaluate it. Overall, the experience felt dismissive and did not provide a meaningful opportunity to assess mutual fit.