I applied for a position at GFT through LinkedIn, and my interview process began with high hopes. Initially, the first interview with the HR representative went well. She outlined the job requirements, and I explained my qualifications. After a successful first round, I had a second technical interview with someone in a similar role to the one I was applying for. This also had a positive outcome, and I was told that I would move forward to the final round with the Client Service Manager (CSM) for the banking sector.
At this point, a month had passed since the first interview. After a week of waiting, I followed up and was informed that there would be an additional interview with a CSM based in Milan (whereas all previous interviews were with people from Turin). However, the Milan-based CSM did not attend the meeting, and a colleague attended in his place. Despite this unexpected change, the fourth interview also went well, which was confirmed by HR.
Following that, HR informed me verbally that they were very interested in making an offer, but that an additional interview with the company's COO in Italy was necessary, although it would not impact the offer itself. I completed this fifth interview successfully, and by this point, two months had passed since the initial contact. However, I heard nothing further.
Just before the holiday period, HR reached out, apologizing for the delays and explaining that they were reviewing internal allocation options. They promised an update in September, but when I followed up, the situation changed. I was told that the position had been frozen, and that they might reconsider it in 2025. This was quite the reversal, considering the earlier verbal assurance of an imminent offer.
To add to the confusion, I noticed that the same job listing had been reposted on LinkedIn. I followed up with the HR team on multiple occasions, but received no response until I finally got a call saying that all my interviews had gone well, but due to year-end planning, they would not be proceeding at this time. They suggested reconnecting in 6 months to a year.
Overall, what began as a promising experience ended in frustration. Despite positive feedback throughout, the process was extremely drawn out (5 interviews over several months), communication was inconsistent, and in the end, the position was "frozen" with no clear outcome. I understand that hiring processes can be complicated, but this level of disorganization and lack of transparency reflects poorly on the company.