MAY: I first applied for the position on May 8th. JUNE: I got email back from the recruiter on June 6th. He stated that he received my application and my employee referral but it took him a month to respond because he was on vacation and was trying to play catch up. He scheduled me for an over-the-phone interview at 12 PM on June 8th. 45 minutes before the interview was to start, he sent me a Google-invite to push the fifteen-minute interview back to 1 PM because he was busy. At 1:10 PM, when he hadn't called, I emailed him and asked him if it would be better if we rescheduled. He called me immediately and we spoke for about ten minutes (5 minutes short of how long the interview was supposed to be) because he said he was late for his next interview..... He informed me that he was interested with having me come in for a F2F interview on June 15th from 3 - 4PM. Our interview didn’t start until 3:10 (though I did see him walking around the office). It was an excellent F2F interview: the recruiter asked to hear the questions that I had prepared for the Client Support Director and he advised me on questions that I should ask. He was very friendly in person and had a warm demeanor. The director, with whom interview was scheduled, was also very kind and informative. He carefully explained all the details for the position and what he was looking for in a candidate. The F2F interview went very well. The day after the interview, the recruiter sent me an email stating that the position was “about 30 days out from the role being officially open.” He also stated that the company was “definitely interested in moving you forward” and asked if I could follow up in a week with an assessment if I was still interested. I responded promptly that I was definitely was still interested and was ready to take the assessment. On June 21, after not receiving an email for the assessment, I email the recruiter and asked him if I could get the link. He emailed back on JUNE 27TH that he was sending the link now. I completed the assessment that day and emailed him so. He messaged me back on the 30th that he was going to “get in front of [the Client Support Director] next week after holidays to discuss” and then circle back to me. “After the holidays” means after Independence Day (July 4th). JULY: So after not hearing from the recruiter for over a week, I contacted him on July 11th asking if he had a chance to contact the CS Director. The recruiter informed me that the company did in fact want to move forward for a job shadow in two weeks (on the 27th or the 28th). He also stated that if I was close to accepting another job offer, that I should give him a “heads up”. In a phone call later during that week (on the 14th) he told me that the job shadow would technically count as my first day and that I should put in a two weeks notice at my current job. I said alright and put in my notice. On July the 19th, I emailed the recruiter asking him the time for my job shadowing. Here is his exact reply (July 20th): “[Name], sorry for delay. Apologies our timeline is a little delayed here. They (and I) are still very interested in moving to the next steps, but I am not exactly sure when they are adding the position to the team. Let me talk to [CS Director] and circle back with you on a more accurate timeline. Thank you for following up and apologies again on the delay. Sincerely, [Recruiter].” I asked the recruiter to please let me know as soon as possible as I had just put in my two weeks notice, as he encouraged me to do. I emailed him again on the 25th asking if he had solidified a time for the job shadowing. He said that he still wanted to move forward (his catchphrase) and that he believes the position will actually begin in AUGUST. AUGUST: So after I had called to OxBlue (twice) and spoken to the CS Director, the recruiter emailed me back on the 1st with a subject reading simply “September”. His email is as follows: “[Name]. Apologies for delay. Took me awhile to get on [the CS director's] calendar. So it looks like they are going to pause hiring for client support for now, and then re-look at the team and hiring needs in September. Apologies for this, we definitely thought another role was open (based off work levels) but it appears they are ok for now. They are still very interested in you and moving forward, I do understand that the timing may not work out though. What they would like to do is stay in touch and reach out when they open hiring again. Let me know if that would work and thank you for the followup. Sincerely, [recruiter].”

I applied on their website and quickly received an automated message telling me that they received my application. This little thing was greatly appreciated. Within two days the recruiter set up a time to talk on the phone for 20 minutes. This was a brief overview of the position, the company, my work history, and why I applied to OxBlue. One week after my phone interview I was asked to come into the office for a 30-minute face-to-face interview. Everyone was incredibly nice and though the interviewer was running a little late he gave me the full 30 minutes and then some. I met with the recruiter and with the Client Support manager. We talked about typical customer service scenarios as well as ones that could be unique or different due to OxBlue's type of client. A lot of the interview with the manager was more culture based. OxBlue expects everyone who works for them to make the best decision for the client most of the time without consulting the superior which should be a major plus for anyone looking for an entrepreneurial workplace. I got the feeling that the management really trusts and believes in each one of the employees. They are not their to hold your hand but they seem to definitely be ready to offer support when necessary or asked for. I left the first interview feeling very confident in moving forward with this company. Less than a week after the first F2F interview I was sent two assessments to complete online. Typical IQ and deductive reasoning assessments. Nothing to worry about and nothing to study for but does give the recruiter and the team a very good sense of how you work through problems along with any other potential strengths or weaknesses. Two weeks after the first F2F meeting I heard back from the recruiter asking to set up a final F2F interview with him, the Client Support manager, and the CEO. Unfortunately but through no fault of anyone's except for bad timing, it took nearly four weeks for OxBlue to set a date for a final interview. At the final interview I met with the CEO, Chandler, for about thirty five minutes where he informed me that he glanced over my resume but really wanted for me to tell him about myself which I appreciated for multiple reasons. First, it shows that he had complete faith in his hiring staff to put a viable candidate in front of him and secondly that he knows a potential employee is so much more than a piece of paper. At OxBlue I can definitely see that everyone has value and trust in each other which is incredibly important for me at a company. We spoke about a large variety of things from my dream job to the layout of the company to the future of the company. It was a great conversation and meant a lot to me that a CEO of any company would come speak to me. After I spoke with Chandler I met again with the Client Support manager and he took me to an employee doing a job similar to what I would be doing so I could shadow him or ask any questions I had. As soon as my job shadowing finished I was taken back to the conference room where the interview started and talked with the recruiter about what it would (hypothetically) take for me to an accept an offer with them. We talked about benefits, roles, the future of the company, and how this position stacks up to my other offers. When we talked about salary I could tell that even though the number he gave me were pretty set in stone, he was willing to negotiate it up to a level that would match my leading offer. After two and a half hours I left the interview and heard back from the recruiter before 5pm that day with an offer that was VERY impressive. Unfortunately in the weeks between my 1st F2F and my 2nd F2F I was contacted, interviewed, and offered by a company that had a very similar position with similar benefits and salary but in my eyes was just slightly better for my career and my future. When talking the recruiter there was very little pressure to make an immediate decision and he helped offer me guidance for my future. If this other opportunity had not come along I would have jumped at the OxBlue position in a heartbeat. This is a great company that is growing quickly. The recruiter, Todd, was amazing to work with and definitely will go out of his way to find the person who is the right fit for both the employer and employee. Overall an very positive experience interviewing with OxBlue.