I think I was invited to go to the wrong interview

Question

I was asked to an interview by a marketing firm. I had been under the impression the position was for a promoting specific brand. The interview was a group interview with about 10 other people there. They likely would have hired more than 1 person for similar/identical positions. The interviewer only discussed topics in the most general of ways and gave no specific details. Each candidate was asked to describe themselves. I was surprised how no body seemed to focus their experience or skills as they would relate to the job. There were only two other questions that were equally as non-specific to a job.

I asked the interviewer if this was more of a general interview or specifically for the position promoting the certain brand. She seemed upset and gave an answer which basically amounted to "both". As I was leaving someone mentioned that the interviews for the specific role I thought I was applying to happened earlier that day. At home I double checked my emails and I definitely applied for the specific role. Some times these agencies hire/interview for non-descript positions to build their roster in anticipation of work(like how recruiters hold interviews without actually having a job opening). I think this what was going on here.

Is there anything I should do now? I would feel better if I let them know about the misunderstanding. Anything I could have done differently while at the interview? I felt like my time was wasted by attending the interview. Even though there was only 3 questions, each person taking 3 minute to answer is 1.5 hours.

Answer 1

Often companies have multiple rounds to their recruitment process and there's no reason why they can't have multiple rounds moving concurrently. The fact that an interview for a position you are interested in occurred earlier that day does not mean you were not being considered for that position. You are likely just on a general filter level--check skills like communication and fit for the company culture. You are still applying for a specific position.

And yes, you are correct in surmounting that the company may just hire first and then assign you to a position that they feel you are a fit for. This is the policy in many Asian countries. It is all the hiring process of Google, among other large companies. The interviewer told you this is not the case though.

It is not for us to decide if a 1.5 hour interview is a waste of time for you. I have personally had interview processes that took 80+ hours.

It sounds like you do not agree with this company's culture. If that is the case, then it would not be a bad idea to forget about the company and move on.

If you still want to pursue this company, your next step is to send an email thanking the interviewers for their time, and then to wait for the results.