I was scheduled to interview with a panel consisting of three managers and one director.
I joined the meeting five minutes early. Claudia Feito, Senior IT Resource Manager, was the first person to join. She informed me that she was sick and would not be turning on her camera. I was still required to keep my camera on throughout the interview.
She then immediately asked me to begin discussing my background and experience instead of waiting for the rest of the interview panel to arrive.
For about ten minutes, I was speaking only with Claudia while looking at my own reflection on the screen. Eventually, only one additional manager joined the call, and the remaining interviewers did not appear.
I found the situation unprofessional and disorganized. If a panel interview cannot proceed with all interviewers present, or if an interviewer is unable to participate fully (including being on camera), I believe the interview should be rescheduled rather than proceeding in an incomplete format.
Being asked to begin a formal interview under these conditions, while still required to keep my camera on, negatively impacted my ability to present myself effectively. As a result, I overlooked mentioning some relevant experience, including automation work I had completed for the company’s website.
Overall, the experience did not reflect the structured panel interview format that had been communicated beforehand and did not provide a fair opportunity to showcase my qualifications.