"It was obvious that HR was also ashamed of the art director's behavior." A graphic designer shared a trashy story during an interview with King Group. It turned out that her experience is not unique. What does the company say?

«Rudeness at interviews should not be the norm. I am sure that this situation needs to be publicized. Usually I share my work and development here, but today I want to talk about an important experience that unfortunately still exists in companies. Recently, King Group invited me to an interview for the position of Spine 2D Animator. I will note right away that the stages with HR and the team lead were constructive and pleasant. But the final interview in the office with the art director was a shock for me,» she wrote on LinkedIn.

The designer said that instead of a professional dialogue, she was faced with the greatest arrogance she had ever encountered in a management position. «At first, they looked at me with a contemptuous look, and then in the same tone they asked what I did and what «office» I worked for. I quote, «What kind of NDA is this, and show me your work, and I’ll figure out what kind of office it is?» The art director didn’t even see my resume or portfolio before the interview.
«And when I mentioned the layoffs at my last job, I heard in response that we were laid off because we were probably 'lab workers,'» the specialist shared.

According to Anna, the art director explained all this rudeness, humiliation, and provocative attempts to «get out of her head» as a «stress tolerance test,» and that he roughly understood from the candidate’s reaction when her patience would snap. «That is, an adult with extensive experience in a management position deliberately used psychological pressure. I sincerely doubt that he would allow himself the same behavior with a man. I am sure that stress tolerance is tested with work cases, constructive edits, and team interactions, but definitely not with bullying and rudeness at the interview,» the designer noted.

This approach to communication left a heavy emotional imprint on the candidate. «Although I remained professional and restrained until the end, I was mentally exhausted for several days afterwards. I don’t know how I didn’t leave after the first ten minutes. I must have been shocked that this still exists in our time. It was obvious that HR was also ashamed of the art director’s behavior. This should not be the norm. At a time when some companies offer psychologists to support people during war, King Group demonstrates a complete lack of corporate culture. If this happens at an interview, then what about at work? And judging by other reviews, this is not the first time,» Anna noted.

She added that she is not sharing her story to discredit anyone. «I want to remind you that a normal attitude during interviews is also the reputation of the company and the candidate also evaluates the place where he will work every day. I really love animation, I sincerely want to find my place, but I also value myself and my experience and hope that the more we publicize toxic situations, the fewer people will repeat them. I wish everyone to value themselves and not tolerate disrespect, even if they really want to get a job,» the specialist summed up.

In the comments to her post, other experts shared similar stories.

«I worked there as a recruiter since the beginning of the summer of 2024, when the company was still called NetGame Entertainment, and I came as an Art Recruiter, that is, I worked exclusively with his department. What you heard at the interview and what you felt during it was only half the story, the next half began when the interview ended, and he did not restrain his emotions at all when I asked for feedback on the candidate,» said recruiter Liliya Maistrenko.

According to the specialist, she was only interested in whether the person was suitable for the position. «But in response, I only heard about which candidates were „morons“, „bipolars“, and he also did not hesitate to comment on their appearance. For example, once, after an interview with a girl 2D artist, he said „did you see? She’s graying, she’s 23 years old, why is she graying? What’s wrong with her head?“. I wanted to say then who really has problems with their head.
So, please, if you are an artist of any direction and you respect yourself, never go to work there while the art director is Proshchenko,» she wrote. Liliya added that when she passed the probationary period and they wanted to officially make her a full-time employee, she refused and left the company. «80% of it is because of this „person“, may all other people forgive me,» Liliya specified.

In turn, Galina Sidenko, Art Director, admitted in the comments that she has been thinking for several years whether to describe her impressions of the interview with them. «And yes, it was probably the most toxic interview in my life. When 2-3 years passed, I was offered a job there, but in another „studio“. I immediately named the „provider“ with whom I have no desire to cooperate. But they assured me that it was not their business. After 1.5 hours of a meaningless interview, I find out that in all their „projects“ there is the same art director, with whom I prefer to have nothing in common. Pupupu,» she noted.

2D artist Oksana Kopitsena has a similar experience. «Oh, unfortunately I know what you’re talking about, because I went through the same experience there. I remember when I was going through the interview stages, the recruiter said that «the art director liked your portfolio, we’d be happy to see you in person at the interview.» And I was happy then. However, when I came directly, it was clear that the art director didn’t care about me as a person or my work at all. For an hour and a half, they asked me about my past work — who was the art director, the boss, he started (with a careful wince) Googling my past boss in front of me, found his Youtube interview and watched it in front of me, simply humiliating him, saying, what a fool (I’m censoring his words now, by the way) inexperienced, and here I am, what a classy guy. «I was sitting face to face then… I remember that this interview was uniquely bittersweet for each of us employees,» Oksana told the story.

More comments here .

dev.ua reached out to the company for comment. Here’s what they said.

«At King Group, we treat every candidate and employee with respect, so the information published in the LinkedIn post is important to us. We are currently conducting an internal review to thoroughly investigate all the circumstances of the meeting in question and assess the situation as objectively as possible. We are communicating with team representatives who were involved in the interview process. We will contact the candidate in the near future to obtain her direct assessment and clarification. Until the review is complete, we will refrain from making any conclusions, but we can assure you that the company does not tolerate disrespectful or unprofessional behavior. Once the internal review is complete, we will update our processes if we see such a need and communicate the results within the limits that do not violate the confidentiality of the participants.»

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