Approximately eight months ago, after the aptitude test, HR interview, I was interviewed by the founder and CEO of a company. The interview seemed promising—they provided excellent feedback, conducted a thorough 45-minute reference check, and even discussed the pay scale. It all seemed quite positive. However, just as I was about to receive an offer, I was informed that the process would take additional time due to the CEO being on leave. Believing in the opportunity, I waited and even turned down other job offers. Unfortunately, multiple follow-ups and six weeks later, I was informed that the delay was due to the company not having clients. I attributed this to the poor market performance and accepted the situation sportingly. Months later, I was invited to a gathering with over 20 people who had undergone a similar experience—they were interviewed and given high hopes but never received an offer. In my case, I had made significant trade-offs based on the hype and assurances given during the interview. Moreover, my senior executive referrals reported unreasonable explanations during the reference check conducted by HR. I want to urge anyone considering an interview with any company to be cautious. Make sure to verify if they indeed have active clients and confirm that any assigned client has a longstanding relationship with the company. This due diligence is essential; otherwise, you might find yourself back on the job market sooner than expected. I hope it helps others avoid similar pitfalls.

Initial call with company representative. 4 hour aptitude test. The test was very hard, and more suited to people who want to be data scientists, developers, and people who have advanced level Mathematics or Statistics. Which are not the skills a Project Manager needs, and is not a very good barometer of the type of skills a PM needs. I don't want to work for an organisation such as this. My experience was not positive as the contact with the individual made it seem like I was bothering them to apply for a job.

I applied directly and got a call from the HR Manager within a few weeks. We had a kind of phone interview for about half an hour which was great. We discussed the role, company, my experiences, and expectations. A few days later they invited me for a test at their office in Sydney. It was a lengthy one which took about 3 hours for me to complete. Questions were easy, pay attention to the details, concentrate and be patient. Two days later got a call and invited for Peer to Peer interview. The interview was over a coffee and took over one hour. It was more like a PM to PM discussion like what I have done, what you have done, etc. Again a few days later got a call and invited for the last round of interview with the GM, again this one was over a coffee. Amazing person and we had a good chat mostly about the roles, IMA, clients and my experiences.