Okay, so I figured I’d share a bit about my run-in with Sutherland, the one operating over here in Africa. Heard they were setting up shop or expanding quite a bit a while back, and jobs were supposedly popping up. Needed something steady at the time, so I thought, why not give it a shot?
First thing, I went looking online. Found their careers page, pretty standard stuff. Looked through the openings listed for my region. Found a couple that seemed like they might fit my background. Nothing too fancy, just regular office-type roles, customer support, that kind of thing. They made it sound like a big, professional operation.
Getting into the Process
So, I polished up my resume a bit, nothing major, just made sure it was up-to-date. Then I started applying. The online application system was… well, it was one of those systems. You know the type. Fill out endless boxes, upload documents, click, click, click. Did that for two different positions.
Then the waiting game started. Honestly, almost forgot about it. Maybe two, three weeks later? Got an email. Said I was shortlisted for an assessment for one of the roles. Okay, progress. It was one of those online tests – logic puzzles, personality questions, the usual drill. Spent an afternoon doing that. Felt like jumping through hoops, but hey, that’s the game, right?
Passed the assessment, apparently. Got another email, this time scheduling a phone interview. That happened pretty quick, just a few days later. Spoke to someone, couldn’t quite place their accent, maybe not even based locally? Asked me the standard questions:
- Tell me about yourself.
- Why Sutherland?
- Describe a time you handled a difficult customer.
You know the routine. I gave my usual answers. The interviewer seemed polite, professional, but it felt very scripted. Like they were just ticking boxes on their end. Lasted maybe 20 minutes.
Things Get Fuzzy
After the call, they said ‘We’ll be in touch about the next steps’. And then… more waiting. This time, the silence stretched out longer. A week passed. Then two. I figured, okay, maybe I didn’t make the cut for that one.
I decided to follow up, just in case. Sent an email to the address I had from the scheduler. Got an automated reply. Tried calling a general number I found, got routed around a bit. Spoke to someone who promised to check and get back to me. Never heard from them again.
It started feeling like a huge, disconnected machine. You interact with one part, then that part disappears, and you’re left talking to a wall. It really felt like nobody actually knew what was going on with my application. Maybe the recruitment team was somewhere else entirely, maybe the hiring manager was busy, who knows? It wasn’t exactly inspiring confidence.
Eventually, maybe a month or so after the phone interview, I got a very generic email. ‘Thank you for your interest… position has been filled… keep your profile for future opportunities…’ The usual stuff. For both positions I applied for, actually, the second rejection came a week after the first.
My Takeaway
Look, I get it. Big companies, lots of applicants. But the whole process felt so impersonal, almost like firing your details into a black hole. You feel like just another number, easily lost in the shuffle. It made me wonder how things work on the inside if the front door is that confusing. Are the teams siloed? Is communication a nightmare? Seems like they’ve got the ‘global’ part down, but maybe the ‘local’ or ‘human’ part needs some work, at least from my little window looking in.
Didn’t end up working there, obviously. Found something else eventually. But that experience, trying to get into Sutherland Africa, it stuck with me. Big doesn’t always mean efficient, you know?
