I wasn't actively looking, but Uber contacted me via LinkedIn. I agreed to an informal chat with a hiring manager to learn about management opportunities.

It was clear from the initial conversation that the recruiter could use help identifying a matching position. I picked out three openings similar to my current job. Instead of considering these three openings, he singled out one because it belonged to the department he recruited for, thus lining up the hiring manager for only that one opening (doh...).

In the phone screen, the hiring manager showed tremendous interest in one particular project – a technical project! He showed no interest in my managerial abilities. At the end of the phone call, he offered me an onsite interview for an individual contributor role. I reminded him I had been referred for a management position. He then said if he let me manage a three-person team today, the team would grow to 50 people in a year. Therefore, he needed to hire someone who had already managed 50 people (doh...). I politely declined his invitation for an on-site interview.

The following day, I received a rejection letter stating how disappointed I must feel and how difficult a decision it was for them (doh…). What was supposed to be an informal chat turned out to be a total waste of time.

What would you have to do differently if you came to work for Uber, compared to your current job?