I applied through a recruitment website. Had my initial interview with the recruiter. That went very well. He thought I’d be a great fit for the position and told me he would pass my information on to the hiring manager. I was told if they were interested I would hear something back by next week. To my surprise he contacted me 4 hours later stating the hiring/asset manager was eager to meet with me on Monday. The company was impressed with my skillset and wanted to move forward to an in person interview. I arrived to my interview 10 minutes early and was placed in a board room and told to wait for the asset manager. As I sat there waiting I heard the door creak open from behind me, and the footsteps abruptly came to a halt. I waited several seconds before turning around and standing to greet the woman before me. The look of surprise on her face threw me for a loop but I was still very much excited to speak in great detail about the position. We shook hands and she asked me how far was the commute to the office space and then asked me to tell her about my experience as we took our seats. I gave her my elevator pitch that highlighted my 8 year experience in the industry, all for her to hastily tell me I’m sorry you had to drive all of this way but we aren’t looking for someone with your experience. She then proceeded to tell me if she were to hire me she would have to underpay me. She stated she needed to have a word with the recruiter to reiterate what she’s looking for. Then she stood, shook my hand and told me it was nice to meet me and for the second time apologized for my 20 minute commute. I was stunned by the unprofessionalism, rudeness, and flat out discrimination. For the life of me I could not determine why she stood in the doorway so long before walking in. Then it became clear, regardless of my professionalism, any credential I had to offer, or any words that would have come out of my mouth, I did not look how she expected.