Institutional Distribution Associate

Note: this is for Nomura Capital Management which is technically a separate entity from the bank.

I applied online and was contacted by HR for an initial phone screening. There were several HR contacts throughout the process, and it seemed like they were very disorganized, which continued throughout the process.

The HR individual I spoke with said that she thought I would be a better fit for the Client Services Associate position than for the Institutional Distribution Associate position, despite having direct distribution experience so it was clear she was not super knowledgeable about the role or the teams. But she said it was the same hiring manager for both roles and she would pass me along to speak with her.

Next step Zoom interview with the head of the sales team. Pretty short and sweet, she said they were looking to move quickly and that she liked my background and wanted to put me to the next round.

Zoom interview with two individuals: a more mid-level sales person who led the interview and then a sales support / technology person. Very conversational interview, mostly space for me to ask questions and was very engaging.

In person interview with the last individual on the team. While the interview was supposed to be with just him, the original woman I spoke with was also there and seemed to be micromanaging the interview and interrupting him. He was really grilling me about my sales experience and she kept stepping in. It became clear as the interview went on that he thought it was for a more senior role, not the associate role. Once he realized that it went more smoothly and they said they would be in touch.

Additional in person interview. Scheduled for a half hour each with the head woman, the second mid-level man I had spoken with, and the third man I spoke with in the office. It ended up being that the third guy didn't come in that day, and the woman had to go quickly, she basically was like hello thanks for coming in we are considering you very closely and its between you and another individual, so then I only met with the second man who clearly had no recollection of our previous meeting. It was a good conversation nonetheless, again very conversational.

HR call - tell me your interest in the role, compensation conversation etc. Positive impression.

Urgent request from HR for two final interviews - with the CEO of NCM and with the last sales guy who had blown me off.

Interview with the CEO went very well. Good conversation, spoke about the industry.

Email from HR saying that they were cancelling the remaining interview the next day because they were planning on moving forward with an offer.

No word for a few days, I follow up. Phone call from HR saying they decided to go in a different direction. Refused to give feedback or explanation.

Overall a lot of red flags throughout the process but was a huge waste of time and incredibly unprofessional. Highly recommend anyone steers clear of NCM.