I applied the position online (right before Gilead completed acquisition of Immunomedics) and was reached out by internal recruiter in a week to setup a phone interview with hiring manager followed by virtual interview. The overall virtual interview process was fast and efficient. The questions asked during interview were mostly focused on ability to do the job and career growth opportunities. All the interviewees reviewed my resume thoroughly and had good understanding of my ability before the interview. Overall the interview process was very easy. I received an offer right after the interview and was excited about all the pros at a growing small company. However, the chaotic recruiting process afterwards had totally turned me away from the offer.
The contract internal recruiter who joined the company a few months ago has no credibility and behaved as if he is an external recruiter. Initially, recruiter said the team was excited about me and proposed a compensation package and asked if would accept it. The highlight of the offer was base salary and RSU. As soon as I showed interest and asked confirmation, the recruiter started to pressure me to accept an unconfirmed offer. A week later, I finally managed to push for a written offer, the base salary was much lower than initially proposed and no details on RSU. As I started to re-negotiate and asked for RSU confirmation, he criticized me for raising from a much lower initial base that he believed I proposed and he had made notes of, which was not true. From that point on, the recruiter started to behave unprofessionally and sounded aggressive with condescending attitude from time to time. In one virtual meeting discussion, he might not realize his video was on and I can see him being very disrespectful to what I was saying in front of the camera, with his manager just standing nearby. Based on his manager and HR’s reaction to his behavior, my gut feeling was what I encountered might be the norm at this company at the moment. A few hours after this verbal confirmation about targeted RSU with recruiter and HR, I accepted the offer under the conditions the targeted RSU can be offered, however my response was immediately taken as a NO answer with an explanation that management cannot confirm RSU due to integration and the offer was rescinded.
Suggestion: My experience about recruiting process might be typical for a small company going through M&A. If you are excited about positions in this company, be prepared to manage the conversation with inexperienced recruiter, carefully evaluate the culture fit to a small company environment before you make a decision to accept an offer.
