When you interview, they’re all really kind people. For your visit to the company for half a day, you’ll meet with a ton of people, including the CEO. He was very pleasant. With me, he said several times that they were hiring entry level positions where people could be trained, and to not worry about having previous experience. This sounded very positive to me and the way my brain works, and fueled my interest in the position.
I was very open that I had no software experience, but they wanted to consider me for a QC Analyst position. It seemed really interesting, and I was excited about learning new things. But I did expect to have training. That’s what the CEO had said, right?
Then about a week after I had done the onsite visit, they said they wanted me to do a project. This project was working with their app doing quality control testing. I’m neurodivergent, and it’s hard for me to just be thrown into something and know exactly what details to notice, etc, regardless of the fact that I possess an uncommonly apt attention to detail. My brain requires training for each job that I do; this has played out multiple times at previous positions I’ve worked.
Nicole emailed with my rejection and a good bit of detail about my mistakes on the project. For my neurodivergent brain that was already nervous and doing my best, this was nothing if not deeply humiliating.
If they had told me I would have to do a software testing project without training to get the job, I would not have wanted to go through the time consuming process of pursuing the position. I wish they had been transparent about this from the beginning. It was basically a bait and switch. I genuinely wish the company the best, but I regret that I let them waste so much of my time. (The process took months)
