Apologies in advance for the long storytelling – but to be fair that’s what I do for my job – as I try to offer the full picture of my interview experience with TripAdvisor. I interviewed for more than two months, with many touch points including phone interviews, visiting the office twice for in-person meetings, a written assignment, and lastly a “casual dinner.” The HR recruiter was helpful throughout and during the introductory phoner, but was double-booked my first time in the office and did not offer/show interest to meet me the second time I visited. HR accommodated my reimbursement requests for Uber trips to/from Boston, which I appreciated. The process was time consuming for a mid-level role (reminder: over two months) with gaps in between interviews/next steps. I received brief feedback along the way from HR such as “they had really good feedback” or “they were impressed with your work” and no concerns were aired as I moved from step to step. After the claimed “final step” when I returned to the office to talk with a VP, I received a call (assuming it was to discuss an offer, or part ways) requesting I meet the team’s director for a “casual dinner.” Note, I’ve already talked with him at length twice. Once on the phone, and then in-person at TripAdvisor. I was told not to prepare anything – it was to get to know each other better and ask any final questions about the role. I’ve never heard of this approach and thought it was odd (along with industry friends I told), especially for a mid-level position. Interviewing for a VP role or above? Sure, a “casual dinner” might make sense to me then. At this point I’ve met with four team members, did the writing assignment, etc. and HR told me on the phone before the “casual dinner” that my candidacy was “looking really good.” I thought wow, all signs are indicating I’ll get an offer after this. So, I travel back to the Newton area for dinner. We greet each other, and before I have the chance to take a seat at our table he explains that he wants to “riff” as if we were already working together and hear my ideas. I fully expected to talk more about the position and the company as I previously offered a lot of my creative thinking during our phone/in-person conversations as well as the written assignment, so I felt completely put on the spot when he projected this expectation – the “casual dinner” was not positioned to me appropriately by HR. Yes, in between questions we talked on a personal level and the conversation was enjoyable, but I was repeatedly asked to provide specific ideas on how to improve their communications efforts across different topic areas and for the website in the general, as if I was in the role already. With no other choice I of course obliged, and felt confident in the insight I put forth and the mini brainstorms we had throughout. The two hours flew by; the conversation was easy and it was helpful to further evaluate the personality of my would-be boss. I left feeling good, though instinctively caught off guard about the mindshare I dispersed. I expected an offer that week. Two days later the HR recruiter called and told me I did not get the job. I was surprised, but respected the decision and it was totally fair. Ultimately I don’t think it would have been a good move for me. But as I mulled over the experience days after, I became angered by the whole affair, in many ways feeling used for my ideas. I shared a lot of intellectual property, and a lot of mindshare was asked of me throughout the process – very specific thinking the team can now use and consider as they plan internally. For example, during the “casual dinner” my insight was requested on the team’s new pillar of focus they were charged with implementing from senior leadership. I fully realize that companies need to learn of your capabilities and creative skill set in order to properly evaluate if you can handle the role (I’ve worked at several major agencies and been through a number of interviews in my career) but there’s a delicate balance of asking appropriate questions while not asking for too much IP of a candidate. In this instance I believe the line was crossed. TripAdvisor seems like a wonderful place to work and my encounters with everyone were enjoyable. I’m an active TripAdvisor user and believe in the platform, and in no way is my intention to shed negative light on the company. But I hope this post will inspire future candidates to carefully consider the amount of mindshare they are willing to reveal, and empower them to raise a red flag if feeling pressured. Good luck.