Shortlisting process was relatively quick, I got a follow-up email for a phone interview just one day after I submitted the application. However, things went downhill from there - the HR personnel wasn't very professional and was curt and rude in her questions. She sounded impatient throughout the half hour session, and interrupted the conversation several times. I found out eventually that they were looking for someone with more work experience than I had, plus some other "necessary" attributes that I apparently did not have (e.g. direct management of subordinates). These were not listed at all in the job description.
I also had the impression that the HR person had little knowledge about the communications role that they were hiring for, which made it rather frustrating that I had to explain my prior experience to convince her that I was a good fit for the role. A check on Linkedin after the session showed that the recruiter was relatively young and had only 2 years work experience. If you are hiring for a senior position for the company, shouldn't the recruiter be somewhat more experienced so that he/she can better know the requirements for the role? I did wonder to what extent can this person make an accurate assessment on the candidate when she's relatively young.
As expected, I was rejected from the role the next day. I guess this whole episode was a matter of misaligned expectations and poor management on the interview/assessment process.
