This was one of the longest and most disappointing interview/recruiting processes I've gone through. Many red flags were raised during the process, but I was heavily invested and chose to ignore them. Lesson learned. I'd recommend following your gut instinct with this company. After an employee referral, I received a telephone screening with HR. It was very thorough and discussed specific skills and experience, so be prepared to speak to your resume. I then embarked on a five-month process that involved eight hours of interviews, including one-on-one with the hiring manager, one-on-one interviews with other senior managers, lunch with hiring manager, and two writing exercises on separate occasions. On several occasions, the interviewer was late, and I waited almost an hour. I found the scheduling problems unprofessional and disrespectful, but I will say that I liked everyone I did meet. Throughout the lengthy and involved process, I received the impression that I was the top candidate or at least on a very short list, and the hiring manager was merely stalling until she could nail down the hiring budget. Time and again, I expected to receive an offer, only to be stalled some more. Finally, I received a short, impersonal email from HR telling me that the position was not going to be filled at all. I walked away with respect for the work of ABC and its people but an overwhelming feeling that I'd dodged a bullet if the dysfunctional hiring process was any indication.

I should have believed all the negative reviews about the recruitment process. My experience consisted of 3 interviews total. Interview 1 was a standard recruiter interview asking me to go through my resume. During that interview the recruiter noted that she would get back to me within 2 weeks. She did answer me in a very timely manner after the first round and scheduled a second round interview with a manager. 2 weeks later I received an email asking for writing samples which I provided. I did not hear back for a long period of time and had to follow up. Upon following up, the recruiter scheduled another interview for me with another senior member of the team. Following this interview I did not hear back for weeks, thus followed up with the recruiter yet again. I was extremely straight forward and asked if I was still being considered for the position. Frankly, I would've just liked the courtesy of being notified regardless, with a direct answer. Following this, the recruiter replied back to me and her response was that I was still being considered for the position and asked for potential times that I could come in for the "final step." Upon replying back about my availability I never heard back again and followed up two weeks later with still no response. This was extremely unprofessional representation of the organization. I understand that recruiters are in a tough position as they are required to communicate between the applicant and the hiring manager, however, misleading an applicant and not even having the courtesy to respond is extremely disrespectful. Now I understand why there were so many negative reviews from applicants as well as existing employees.