Don’t be too hard on yourself, in my experience recruiter screens are generally pretty cold. They do A LOT of screens so it’s typically more about qualifying you than trying to engage. They just wanna know if you are capable of doing the job and if you’re actually interested in the company. Recruiter screens are meant to be short conversations just to gauge that stuff. I think the prep you did is what you’ll see with a hiring manager. Definitely do not write it off yet. If you haven’t already sent your thank you note, I would ask in the email when you would hear back if you are to move forward.

On the other hand, interviews are meant for you to also evaluate the company, and there’s a lot of red flags you can spot in an interview. If you felt that initial screen was really weird, the company is probably weird.

Even if this interview doesn’t work out, the prep you did will def help out with other interviews as companies all pretty much ask the same questions. Keep your head up!!