I will never apply for BookingGo again after the negative experience I've had.

I filled out my application the first week of March. A week and a half passed, and I received a call from their recruitment team. This was essentially a phone interview without them admitting so, leaving me with no time to prepare. Luckily, a few days later, I was given a date for an interview.

The interview itself was split into two segments: a standard face-to-face interview with two test leads, and then a more practical interview. To start off, I felt like my chances of success were already ruined when the first half began. The two test leads were very awkward people; it was clear this was the first time they had interviewed anyone. It was almost impossible to have a friendly conversation with them or try to engage in small talk, as they would shy away and act uninterested. The interview was competency-based, which I HATE! I was advised of this beforehand and did prepare; however, not a single question was about the position or the company. It’s a ridiculous way to interview someone. I didn’t have an opportunity to showcase my talents or skills, or show how much effort I had put into researching the company and its ethics. We had finished the interview a few minutes earlier than planned, and both of them panicked to try and fill the time, ending up leaving the room until the second half of the interview began, leaving me on my own for almost 10 minutes.

The next two interviewers were MUCH better than the first guys. They were talkative, very approachable, and likeable. The second half was practical-based. I was given an iPad and told to go to a section of the BookingGo site to write up a test case plan and how I would prioritize each section. I felt I had excelled in this part of the interview, and the two interviewers seemed quite impressed with me. We even managed to have a general conversation because the environment became so comfortable. They asked me further questions that were actually about the position I was applying for, which allowed me to prove how suitable I actually am for the position.

I left the interview and was told it would take a week and a few days to hear my outcome. This interview was roughly in the second week of March. A couple of weeks later, I still heard nothing about my outcome. I thought they might be conducting more interviews, so I waited a few days. I have never had to follow up on an interview before, but I had to send an email to the recruitment team to see what was happening, as I had received no communication. I was just told, ‘you will hear by the end of the week.’ The end of the week came, and I had heard nothing. I chased again a few days later and received a similar answer again.

I finally received an email at the very end of April (well over a month since the interview) telling me to expect a call at a specific time. To most people, this would sound like good news. The call came, and I was told I had been unsuccessful. No genuine reason was given for why the whole process took so long. I was told that I essentially didn’t have enough interest in the position, which is an outright LIE and something I was actually hurt by. I spent all my spare time researching the company; I passed up OTHER OPPORTUNITIES to pursue this position, only to be told that I wasn’t interested enough. I knew straight away that this was a result of the first interview, which I had no control over. There was absolutely no chance to show any interest when you’re given ridiculous scenario questions and ‘tell us a time when…’. She said herself that I received great feedback from the second interview. I feel played, and my time has been wasted.

I later found out that the reason I didn’t get the position was due to funding cuts. I had actually been selected as one of the potentials for the position (they were hiring four people), but to come up with a lie and decide to take a hit on my confidence rather than telling the truth is just disrespectful. I was also told that they were running some sort of internal investigation, as they admitted that the process from start to finish was a cock-up on their part, and I would get a call with actual feedback. This was a month ago, and still nothing.

My advice would be that if you’re waiting to hear back from BookingGo and have been offered a position by a different company, take the offer!

Competency-based questions often start with 'Tell us about a time...'