I applied online. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at BayFirst National Bank (Clearwater, FL) in Dec 2024
Interview
I first had a phone interview with the manager of this team. The interview was simple as it is mostly getting to know each other, my future plans, expectations and looking into my technical background within IT. Everything went well with this phone interview which was moved to the next step for a video interview with the two members of the team I would be working with. The video interview was scheduled the following week.
That video interview was more so getting to know each other once again, but without the manager in the interview to get a feel of the overall "vibe" (As the manager put it) that we sense from each other. I was asked very simple beginner technical questions which eventually led to more personal questions. I had no problem with the questions that were asked of me but I have a serious concern on one of the questions that was thrown at me.
Due to my history of working in Florida's legal cannabis industry as a call center agent, I was asked if I partake in the activity of that industry, aka if I smoke cannabis myself. The interviewer did mention that it was optional for me to answer, however the interviewer also mentioned that regardless of whether I answer or not, they will know the answer simply by my "facial expression" upon hearing the question, which I found disrespectful and blatantly dishonest as facial expressions are not liable evidence of suspicions. I proceeded to answer the question truthfully simply because I already made a decision that I will end up declining this position due to issues that I will disclose below, with my answer being that I "no longer partake" and am currently off of this medicine for several months since my medical card expired and had no more interest in it, but I also mentioned that it is not off the table for me to return to it, but in my own personal time legally and is not something I would ever do in the workplace.
It is not uncommon to receive questions related to drug use, however this is a question that should come from the manager level, not from a regular non-management role employee of the same position that I was interviewing for. This question felt like entrapment and I question if bias played a part in their decision to not extend an offer to myself due to this alone. If I was serious about this position, I would have likely lied about my history with this medicine, but also would likely not matter how I answer since this particular "interviewer" apparently has a skill that even court judges lack.
My reasoning for already planning to decline if offered a position is due to my phone interview I had with the manager. The position is titled "Infrastructure Systems Analyst", however I was told by the manager, as well as on the video interview that half of the job would be tickets for front end, and the other half would be project work. I questioned the video interviewers on this and bluntly told them that this position seems like help desk with a fancy title, to which their 20 minute explanation of the position after I mentioned this was exactly what I suspected as this is nothing more than help desk with a fancy title with much more work and responsibility than your average help desk position, while also earning less than I currently do in my help desk role with my current company. Anyone with experience in information technology can see that this was a trick to draw in applicants for a small business already struggling with growth.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Q: You do not have to answer this question, however regardless of you refusing to answer, I'll be able to tell the answer once I ask this question by looking at your facial expressions. Do you partake in Cannabis considering your history working with a legal medical cannabis company?
It was brief phone interview to see if the role and salary requirements would be a good fit. The role I originally applied for was already filled but they mentioned they had a similar position that I could apply for.
I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at BayFirst National Bank
Interview
Typical interview process. The interviewer seems a bit unprepared and kept checking their phone, to a point where I stopped my response and asked if they were expecting a call. I've been in my line of work a long time and had other offers in line, so I did not have to worry about speaking up. The interview was over an hour in length and was informative.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
1. Tell me about your experience.
2. Biggest hurdle on a loan file and solution applied.