The 1st interview was conducted online and went okay. At that stage, it was already clear that my background was not traditionally mechanical or electrical. Despite this, I was invited for 2nd interview (f2f).
Believing there was genuine interest, I flew from Malaysia for the interview and expected discussions around alternative scopes for the role, which were also stated online for the same position and better aligned with my experience. However, the f2f interview lasted less than 10 minutes and ended with the same conclusion that I was not a suitable candidate due to the lack of traditional mechanical or electrical background.
I was also told that one of the main responsibilities of the role was managing operation staffs, which was totally not stated in the job description. When I pointed this out by referring to the posted job scope, I was asked, “Where you get it ah?” I was totally shocked, because the exact same job scope was copied directly from multiple job search websites. I don’t understand why there appeared to be unfamiliarity with the posted job description.
I asked multiple times why I was asked to attend this f2f interview when it was already clear that I did not meet the core technical requirements in the 1st online interview, but my questions were ignored. I even got asked, “You fly from Malaysia very expensive meh? Very time consuming meh?” This was disappointing, as I had upcoming exams and an ongoing master thesis, yet still made the effort to attend the interview in person.
Toward the end, general feedback was provided, said "oh we see you got good attitude and quite prepared, so ask you come lor". Not unexpected, no further follow-up or communication after that. I can accept rejection, but the way this process was handled was disappointing and unprofessional.