"Interview process used for free consulting on active projects"
Ordeal experience:
I interviewed for a Senior Architect (Analytics - BI) position. While the JD was heavily focused on Data & Analytics, the interview process felt less like a skill assessment and more like a "work-for-free" session.
I was tasked with a case study involving actual client challenges faced by a current project/account. I prepared a client-facing presentation and presented it to the delivery team, who used the session to have their project doubts cleared. After providing actionable solutions to their real-time project issues, I was rejected with the excuse that I "lacked AI experience"—a requirement that was not emphasized in the JD nor relevant to the specific data architecture challenges presented in the case study.
Advice to Management:
Stop using the interview process to crowdsource solutions for your delivery teams. It is highly unethical to use a candidate’s 20+ years of expertise to solve active project hurdles under the guise of an interview, only to move the goalposts at the final stage.