I found the job listing on Careerbuilder.com. I was very excited about the position because I thought it would be a great fit. I have 15 years' experience in the automobile industry. Most of which was on the sales and F&I (finance and insurance) part of the business, but with a strong understanding of fixed operations. The job description was for a sales specialist to call on car dealers and present Reynolds & Reynolds software and hardware to the sales and F&I departments (most of my time in the auto business was using Reynolds & Reynolds software). After reading the description and education requirements carefully, I updated my resume and references and applied for the job. It is important to note that the position description asked for a BA or equivalent work experience. I do not have a Bachelor's degree but do have an Associate's degree, many credits and more-than-ample work experience.
I did not apply for a job that stated a BS/BA was required. I was contacted by the recruiting department and was scheduled for a phone interview. The phone interview went very well and I was asked to take the skills and personality tests. These tests were challenging and time consuming; they were not difficult but they were tough enough to make them a fun challenge. I spent close to 4 hours on these tests on my home computer. These processes had taken at least three weeks to this point.
I obviously did well enough as they requested another phone interview as well as additional tests and the completion of the "long form" application. After another two weeks of "review" and waiting, I was called for a face-to-face interview with the regional sales manager. The people I had been working with in the recruiting department had been supportive, professional and a pleasure up to this point. Unfortunately, this did not continue.
I was called and told the Regional Sales Manager would be flying to Ft. Lauderdale (from Atlanta) to conduct interviews for one day. The recruiting personnel, with whom I had been working, instructed me to meet him in the airport at a predetermined time and place and was told I might have to take a proctored examination. I found this a little odd but was still very positive on the opportunity. I had been told many times that the company is very conservative in the matter of professional dress code (dark suit, white shirt, conservative tie). I was given the time, place and name for the interview. I was asked to meet him at 11a.m. at a coffee shop at the airport. Upon arriving at the meeting place thirty minutes early, I started reviewing information and preparing for the interview. I had thought of leaving my cell phone in my car to avoid distraction. Thankfully I brought it with me. At about 10:50 a.m., I looked at my silenced cell phone and noticed it was ringing. It was the recruiting department. I answered and was told the interview location had been changed at the last minute. I was instructed to now meet him in a chain restaurant two terminals away from the original location (I had to figure that out because I was given the wrong terminal by the recruiting department). Fearing that I would now be late, I called the RSM and told him I would be a few minutes late due the location change (he said he called and left messages; I found out later he indeed did, but they were on my home phone. Both my home and mobile numbers were readily available to all personnel).
There was a substantial distance between the original meeting place and the newly designated meeting place thus forcing me to move quicker than one, wearing a suit, would care to in the sticky heat of South Florida. The original meeting place was just outside Terminal one and the new meeting place was inside of Terminal three. Since there is no indoor passage between the Terminals, I had no choice but to go outside and run/walk in my suit, through every smokers smoke (Reynolds & Reynolds will not hire smokers and I was paranoid of smelling of smoke). Upon arriving at the new location, the RSM was on his phone, did not stand up to greet me and is, at best, dressed casually. After he got off the phone we exchanged short pleasantries and began the interview. It was not long before I realized he knew nothing of me despite the two months I spent working and corresponding with the recruiting department. After a cursory look at my resume, he took a deep breath and told me that was going to be a "tough sale" due to me not having a BA/BS. We talked for about fifteen minutes and I knew this was not going anywhere. I was disappointed and had nothing to lose when I asked him why he was so negative on me. His response was "I am just not feeling it with you".
We parted ways and I was not offered the position. After witnessing how he conducted himself, my disappointment has waned.