I was very disappointed by the interview process with American Express, a company I admire greatly. I was originally contacted by a recruiter on LinkedIn, who then passed me on to a different recruiter who scheduled time for a phone screen. The recruiter did not call me on our set day/time, and after several back-and-forth emails, the only time he could find for another 15-minute phone screen was a week later. I've spoken with several recruiters over the years, and I was taken aback by how rude and dismissive he was when we finally spoke. He cut me off when I was answering questions, and if I asked a question, he responded with a one-word answer. Unfortunately, this process left a very bad taste in my mouth with AMEX. I believe these recruiters are contractors, but, if so, at least the one I spoke with does not represent the company well to prospective candidates.

The overall interview process felt like a complete waste of time. There was no clear communication from HR, and the process was vague, delayed, and impacted by multiple internal updates. It felt like they were keeping candidates in the pipeline rather than actively hiring. The process included multiple stages: an HR screening, a panel interview, and a director interview. Most of the questions were focused on my past experience and competencies, but some questions were repetitive across rounds. The entire process took months to complete, and HR was not very responsive during this period. Overall, the interview process could be much more structured, transparent, and faster.