I've been going through the interview process for a job which will be quite a big step up from my previous role, very good money, a good opportunity, but also a lot more responsibilities.
The process has been four total stages/interviews, including a fairly in-depth presentation that I was asked to prepare.
So yes...very long though they did apologise for the added fourth stage as it was a last min adjustment due to the usual person I would've met sooner being on holiday until recently. I am now waiting to hear if I got the job.
But in the fourth stage with one of the managers, she said some things that just gave me bad vibes. She explained she wasn't trying to scare me off but wanted to set clear expectations for myself if I get the role.
She talked about how there may be pressure on me from multiple people to complete tasks and I need to have the ability to manage their expectations and say "no" even when pressured. She referenced working in this specific industry requires growing "thick skin".
She also started talking about certain people in higher roles have particular personalities that mean they speak to each other "sternly" and sometimes they "forget we (the people who work in the department I'd be in) are not like that and take things in a different way".
Maybe I made a face or maybe she realised how she was sounding because she very quickly, in an afterthought kind of way, added that "of course bad behaviour isn't tolerated and we never let anyone feel unsafe or disrespected" but the whole thing has put me off.
In my past company, there wasn't even a need to remind anyone that "bad behaviour isn't accepted" because it was a given, her following up with that (and everything else she said) makes me feel "bad behavior" has been a not so uncommon occurrence in the business.
To add to this, I am not a thick skinned person. It is an unfortunate flaw of mine, but I do struggle with confrontation and have had very bad experiences in my life with awful bullying in school, college, and the workplace. It's simply something I don't handle well and I feel I may also be seen as a target because of my personality.
On one hand she may just be overstating things, and everyone in my life I've spoken to about this thinks it'll be fine, it's not a red flag, I'll learn to handle it if this is truly what the workplace is like.
Curious to hear how others would feel hearing the above in the lead up to potentially being offered a job?