Cancelled to reschedule a 4 AM interview with a big bank. Was it a test?

Last night I got a notification that the 3rd round interview (probably the last round) for a bank was scheduled for this coming Tuesday at 4 AM (London time), which was already a reschedule since the interviewers never confirmed for the previous possible dates. This seemed either odd (thinking it could be a mistake), disrespectful, or a test (let's see how big of a team player/pushover this guy is).

I wrote an email asking if it could be a mistake. And then cancelled asking for a reschedule to a more sensible time, saying that I put 8 AM as the earliest starting time since the system didn't allow anything earlier than that, and that I was available during the whole morning if it helped to agree to a start time. I was as respectful and diplomatic as I can be, stating that I'm sure the interviewers already have a busy schedule, but that we could still try to reach a sensible agreement without major inconveniences.

Apparently one of the interviewers is from India, this would explain the odd timing, but is it too unreasonable to ask for a time where I'm not half sleep? Especially if the other interviewer is also based in London? Plus, this would put me at a disadvantage if the other candidates were given more reasonable starting times.

The interview is for a junior data scientist role, and it would be my first job in the retail banking industry. I know that banking can be more demanding compared to other industries, but I'm not talking about an investment banking internship position at Goldman Sachs.

I'm not sure if it was a wise decision to try to reschedule. Maybe this very action already put me at a disadvantage. I don't know how common this practice is in banking, but it seems unorganized to me.

What's your opinion?

1 Comments
 

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