Recruiter seemed unsure about the position's specifics, but was quite kind. At the time I was desperate for a job, so I went along with it. The first interview was a behavior/technical mix with a relatively young guy (early 30s, mid-30s). He was the Hiring Manager. The conversation went fantastic, and I became excited about the role. Really nailed turning a technical interview into a conversation and exchange of ideas. Towards the end of the interview time, he began speaking with me about how it will be when I'm on the team, how I'm a perfect fit culturally and technically, and he cannot wait to introduce me to the other team members. He said we just need approval from my manager.
Oh my lord. That interview came a week later. The manager was extremely cold, rude, and arguably insecure. Oddly, she kept hitting on my degree (I have a terminal degree) as a negative. She would not stop bringing up was how my education actually leaves me unprepared for the pace at American Express. I've heard this before, and have successfully demonstrated time and again that in the right hands, that experience is an asset. Notably, she had a Bachelors from some a school in rural India. I played nice and kept hitting home that AMEX is known for excellent work-life balance, teamwork, and getting the job done. She scoffed and said she was 'sick of people saying that and that - AMEX needs to change.' She disagreed with me when I spoke about my feelings about my experiences and tried to tell me how I felt. (!?). I will admit I was incredibly sad when I learned I was not moving forward, nor was I shocked. Overtime, I saw it as a bullet dodged.
Two months later I got an offer for a job from a larger banking institution making double what AMEX was going to offer, and funnily equivalent to the AMEX manager's role in the hierarchy. Honestly, I'm leaving this review because wonder if there was implicit bias against me because my race, gender, and orientation. I checked her LinkedIn before our interview and noticed that despite having 500+ connections, the only things she commented on or posted involved people from her very specific South Asian ethnic group. When I say specific, I mean insanely specific (think specific region of a country)...
So either AMEX's culture is changing, AMEX has an incredibly incompetent and rude person in a executive leadership role, or AMEX as an incredibly biased person in an executive leadership role.