I applied via Tesla's online application portal. I heard back from a regional recruiter 2 days following my application submission. We scheduled a phone interview for the following week, only 4 business days after I applied. The phone interview was casual, mainly discussing my resume and how my career brought me to apply to Tesla. 30 or so minutes later, we scheduled a follow-up interview with the store manager for the local showroom I applied for. I had a Zoom interview with the store manager, lasting about an hour. Simple interview, touching on the culture of Tesla being not just a car company, some straightforward questions revolving around my previous customer-facing positions, and one or two sales-related questions. I requested the store manager's email before saying goodbye, and followed up two days later, describing how I had gone to the showroom to get to know the employee culture a little better. I never heard back. About a week later, growing concerned I had gotten the wrong email, I followed-up with the recruiter I had my initial email with. The recruiter replied the following morning stating Tesla was no longer continuing the interview process with me. A thing I wish I knew before hand: This position was previously titled Product Specialist. Tesla renamed the title and changed aspects of the position because of, what I can only assume from observing Glassdoor's reviews, was severe negative feedback from employees in the positon. So, when looking up reviews of the position on Glassdoor, be aware that both roles are close to the same experience, with the major difference being that Customer Experience Specialists have a more solidified career advancement opportunity within the company now. The leadership is strongly driving the concept of customer engagement, not necessarily educating them. Overall: The interview process was very quick, which, as someone actively searching for employment, was highly satisifying. However, having the send multiple emails just to hear back from someone was a let down. I never received any feedback on why the position wasn't offered to me, only that it wasn't. I am constantly trying my best to learned from mistakes and improve, so this was frustrating not to get any feedback.

The interview process was disappointing and felt largely one-sided. Instead of asking meaningful questions to learn about my qualifications and experience, the manager spent much of the conversation talking about himself and his accomplishments. Very little time was spent discussing the actual responsibilities of the role, expectations, or opportunities for growth, leaving me with many unanswered questions. Throughout the interview, the manager repeatedly emphasized how much the staff liked him and how well he managed the team, rather than focusing on whether I would be a good fit for the position. During the interview and later while visiting the location, I personally felt there was favoritism toward employees from certain backgrounds, specifically those from the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico. While this was my perception, it contributed to my concern that employees may not all be treated equally. Overall, the interview felt like a waste of time because I left with very little understanding of the position and the impression that the manager was not genuinely interested in evaluating candidates or providing meaningful information about the job. I believe Human Resources should review and improve the interview process. Having a corporate recruiter participate in interviews, establishing a minimum interview length of 45 minutes, ensuring candidates receive a thorough overview of the role, and providing feedback after the interview would create a more professional, consistent, and transparent hiring experience.