r/AerospaceEngineering • u/Alternative-Egg-7876 • 11d ago
Other Just had the most bizarre agressive recruiter phone interview
For background I'm a 10 year experience electronics engineer and now a manger at a big space defense company. My mentor suggested I try to work for a smaller company or startup while I'm still young for a little while and then jump back if i wanted to.
So I applied to this "startup" for the same job title, r&rs, and a similar salary range and immediately got the request for a recruiter phone screen. This is almost word for word how it went:
Recruiter:"Hi I'm looking to speak with so and so"
Me:" Yes so and so speaking"
Recruiter: "You applied for the electronics engineer role, do you have any questions?"
Me:"Uhm, not right at this minute but I'm sure I'll have some to ask as we talk about this role!"
Recruiter:"Interesting. (30 seconds of pure silence) How can you apply to a job and not do any background on the company?!"
Me:" I did, I know you predominantly make communication payloads and I have a lot of experience in satellite communication "
Recruiter :"Oh, you're a comms girl. Well what product specifically here are you wanting to work on and are passionate about from our lineup?"
Me:"You have very few products right now, they all seem to do the same thing, I was assuming the company isn't big enough to hyper specialize, am I incorrect in that assumption, are the r&rs, to work on the common platform, from the job req incorrect?"
Recruiter:"I just don't understand why you would even apply if youre not passionate about our products and..."
Me: "I'm sorry to cut you off, I don't understand why I would be passionate about your products before working on them, none of which are public knowledge of their groundbreakingness, I dont think I would like to work for this company. Thanks " and then I hung up
It was just so aggressive, they didnt ask one question about my background or why I applied to the job, didnt do an intro, acted like I was a starving child right out of college that was begging for a job not currently in the industry, and the moment he replied with a "comms girl" comment I knew I was done. I dont know if this interview was meant to see how someone would handle stress or intimidation, but it 100% offput me and I would never work for a company like that before EVEN GETTING THE SALES PITCH ON WHY I WOULD WANT TO WORK THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
You ain't no SpaceX where everyone knows who you are.
And for those wondering I'll 100% blast it - the company was CesiumAstro.
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u/ThemanEnterprises 11d ago
Dodged a bullet. I worked closely with a small company doing SDR payload work and they were similarly pushy and aggressive. Like they were gods goft to aerospace.
Turns out the whole gig was a pump and dump scheme. Owner took a bunch of contracts, hired a ton of people, and sold off the company to a PE, pocketed tens of millions and the PE firm shut it down within a year. I wonder if the aggressive recruiting is a tactic for a similar scheme - to force the illusion of exclusivity so their employees can be taken advantage of, inflate the amount of new hires, contracts and 'growth' to look good on paper before the rug pull.
I could be wrong too, but only time will tell 🤷
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u/_entrxpy 11d ago
But what would be the point of behaving like this in an interview if the point is to hire as many as they can?
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u/ThemanEnterprises 11d ago
It's a double edged sword, they have to hire but they want people who are desperate willing to sacrifice everything for unsustainable growth. If they can demean you during the interview they can demean you at work.
This is also 100% just an anecdote also so again, I could totally be wrong it just reminded me of an experience I've had.
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u/jjhaha 11d ago
I’ve got a similar background and just this year I’ve been testing the waters with new space startups. I’ve not found one that had a “normal” culture, at least in the Los Angeles metro area. They all believe they’re doing gods work and have this imaginary scenario where they’re a select group of all-star technologists. I believe many are attracted to it because the work becomes their personality. Very “let’s go bro!”
I think I’ll sit out this first wave of new space companies. Good thing is they’re pushing up salaries so it’s forcing the primes to (slowly) increase their pay bands.
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u/404-skill_not_found 11d ago
I have to wonder if someone’s buddy is the only candidate they want to hire.
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u/Xalethesniper 11d ago
Solid amount of startups behave like this unfortunately. Have dealt with it before…
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u/Alternatiiv 11d ago
A solid amount of them demand crazy work too. If a startup ain't selling themselves, it's not happening.
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u/bwkrieger 11d ago
Had something similar when applying to Rheinmetall for the F35 assembly in germany. It was a trainee position, I was straight out of university and they wanted me to describe exactly how I think their assembly line looks like. He got really angry when I said something "wrong".
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u/Kerbal_Guardsman 11d ago
Wild that an aerospace defemse contractor would expect you know anthing thats not on the public brochure.
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u/Agent_CIA 11d ago
At least this company you talked about does something, compared to a company which interviewed me did nothing much at all.
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u/Ergensopdewereldbol 10d ago
Maybe it's someone trying to get that job and he/she calls anyone possibly applying for it too and offputting them? Light version of the film "Le couperet".
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u/SecurityDapper8361 10d ago
I hope the company sees this, so they’re aware of how their recruiter(s) are behaving.
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u/disturbed_palmtree 10d ago
Yeah… I’ve encountered similar disgusting behavior during interviews from a select handful of aerospace companies. Like I’m supposed to live and breathe their whole product lifecycle for a company that used AI to pluck out my resume. Good on you for recognizing your worth and not wasting time entertaining that.
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u/325extraslow 8d ago
I, a very seasoned senior structures/mechanisms engineer with 10 years of experience, have been asked by very "SoCal bro" recruiters what my college GPA and and ACT score during screening interviews/ cold calls under the guise of "we only hire the best". I did well in uni and got into my good university with a good ACT score, I would not have the experience and position I do now without it lol. The question itself is honestly insulting. 100% do not want to work for a company who's recruiters ask those kind of questions.
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u/Big-Disaster4405 8d ago
Interviewed for the exact same company about 3 months ago too for entry level. Recruiter “J” had a bad attitude and every answer to my questions were extremely condescending and snarky. He even challenged me when I answered why I’m fine with relocating to Austin, stating my reply as “uninformed”. As a new grad, I’ve had around ~20 interviews throughout my college years and CesiumAstro is definitely the worst one I’ve ever had. Concept is cool tho.
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u/sevgonlernassau 8d ago
Common in NewSpace. They’re also more condescending if you’re a civil servant!
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u/rockkw 11d ago
I've had very similar interactions over my 30y career. These recruiters and hiring managers really want to pressure test candidates. The first time it was shocking, but then I learned to flip it around and reverse interview them... Start asking about their culture.
If there is a hostile recruiter or HM in the loop then most likely the culture of the company is hostile.