A Tale of Two Rejections

Me, twice this week

1) ServiceTrade: Where Dreams go to die

After filling out dozens of applications for every type of job imaginable—those for which I’m overqualified, under-qualified, different industries, familiar industries, higher comp than I’m worth, and yes: even less comp than I’m worth… I finally heard back from a company to set up a phone screen. The company, ServiceTrade, is a SaaS org that needed a Technical Support Specialist: my exact forte. I breezed past the phone screening, breezed past the manager interview, breezed past the written assessment. And I was told that the Technical Presentation— a 15-20 minute demonstration on a software for which you are comfortable walking through and answering questions—was the big Kahuna. The make-or-break of this job interview. I put everything I had into this presentation. I neglected my marriage, my friends, my family… all to make sure I had the best presentation possible.

I presented it on Claude, and showed how a simple concept like asking a question to an LLM, i.e., “what are some good bbq joints in Austin, TX?” can turn into a beautiful PDF for a weekend trip, which can then automatically update your Google Calendar via Google APIs, and block off scheduling for the time you’re busy. I also created a Spotify playlist for the drive, and showed how LLMs are so much more than just glorified search engines. I felt so proud of myself. I spent 100s of hours and 100s of dollars on this presentation.

They seemed so proud of me. It showed just how tech savvy I am, and how I’m able to transfer complex thoughts and workflows into easily-digestible ideas and simple sentences. I was so proud of my work. I had my whole village praying for me (family, friends, my church, in-laws… you name it). And I was told to reach out to the recruiter on Wednesday had I yet to hear back, with the implication that I would be hearing back. There as still one more interview step: meeting with the director. During the presentation itself, I was as-much-as guaranteed that I would make it to that step. I reached out to the recruiter on Wednesday at 12:00pm EST (11:00AM my time)

All the exclamation points, along with the assurance from the evaluators sure made me feel like it would be good news! Every professional to whom I forwarded this email agreed that the exclamation points meant I was in the market for good news! Now I only needed to wait until Monday!!

I was unable to sleep a wink Sunday night due to the excitement. This excitement quickly turned into my soon my heart being broken. I had spent every ounce of effort I had to make this presentation perfect. I did everything I possibly could. I could have had Mr. Claude himself show up and it couldn’t have been any better. There’s one really notable thing about this email though… It is a FORM LETTER. After 4 rounds, 30 emails sent back-and-forth between the recruiter and I, hundreds of hours and hundreds of dollars to make sure the presentation was perfect… sh sent a Form Letter. I’ve never felt so offended.

The manager whom I had met with in rounds 2 and 4 made it clear that the Teach Presentation was the difference maker. I asked: “Since there are a handful of candidates where I’m at, how can I make myself stand out?” He told me the tech presentation. But now, the recruiter was telling me it was a “combination of factors".” When I asked for any clarification, she refused. I have never had a 5-round interview for a Technical Support job (!!!), It was slightly below the salary I’d be comfortable with given my experience. And they wanted 5 rounds!! I never dealt with a team so callous and careless. The manager talked more about himself and the team during the second round than he asked questions about me, and, though they were impressed with my tech presentation (which according to Greg was the way to stand out), this is what I received. Not only is this job market tough and impossible, but it’s insensitive and harsh. I needed to call my mom and have her give me a hug over-the-phone.

2) Kestrel Insights: A beacon of hope

In the midst of the ServiceTrade interview process, I got a Linkedin Message from Lucas. I’m not blurring his name because he is a kind, wonderful man. Lucas is the founder of a small team called Kestler Insights that focused on Geofencing data. Specifically, improving Geofences so that data is more accurate for transport organizations. With a circular Geofence, all kinds of miscues can occur, but at Kestrel, they are committed to offering accurate Polygon Geofences for Transport companies and beyond. I submitted my resume for EasyApply via Linkedin, Lucas liked what he saw, and wished to interview me the next day. I booked a time, and honestly mostly spoke about my presentation for ServiceTrade, because I was so excited about it. It really allowed me the opportunity to learn so much about my tech skills. So thanks ServiceTrade for that… I guess…. I talked about my experience with Claude, building a Website, creating API keys and so much more. He saw me as a support agent and then suddenly saw me as a support agent who knows his way around data analysis. And what a relief; that was the title of the position at Kestrel: Customer Support & Data Success Specialist. Lucas immediately moved me onto the next round, where I’d be presenting an assessment on APIs, Geofencing and Google My Maps

Running the API on Motive API was easy as could be

This is where my geometric mind kicked in. I saw 5 points after running the API, the first and last which were identical. This means it’s a closed polygon. Not just is it a closed polygon, but because Point A and Point B are at the same Point on the X-axis, same can be said of C and D; and B and C are on the same point on the Y-Axis, as are D and A. That makes a square. I don’t work in geofencing, but I know Geometry, I know squares.

They loved that I drew it, they thought it not only showed my creativity, but intelligence and my ability to simplify complex topics.

And of course I created a CSV and uploaded it to Google My Maps. The Geofence shows it’s address as a church, but would ping several different arrivals (to the grocery store, to the Dentist, and even just driving around). THAT’S what Kestrel Insights does: they fix these geofences that Motive posts so they’re more accurate to allow for better Transport data. It’s a great product that got me incredibly excited

This was presented at the second interview: which not only featured Lucas, but also the COO Sid, who was also nice as-can-be. They really cared to listen to me and teach everything they could. They loved every time something clicked for me, and if not successful businessmen, they would make great college professors—both of them.

I then did what I do. I created an HTML tool for Geofencing: Here… and another one here. I shared them with Lucas who was very impressed. But upon sharing the second one, I was hit with devastating news.

THIS IS HOW YOU HANDLE A REJECTION

Kudos to the wonderful folks at Kestrel Insights, and shame on the Kafkaesque bureaucratic sleep paralysis demons at ServiceTrade. I wish the absolute best to Lucas and Sid, and the new person who’s getting the job I so desperately wanted!

I may or may not be engaging in brujería to the folks at ServiceTrade… particularly the “Talent Acquisition Manager.”

That being said, if you have any leads, please let me know mscottjones24@gmail.com 😂