I came to the company through an employee referral. There was almost a month gap between submitting my application and receiving a call from the internal recruiter. I had three interviews: one with the hiring manager, one with a key stakeholder and one with a hired consultant who had been working on this project. The hiring manager and I had a great conversation and he sent me on to the next round. The key stakeholder was obviously looking for someone with a very specific set of skills and background and never would have continued with me as a candidate if he had interviewed me first (instead of the hiring manager interviewing me first). I wish the two of them could have worked out the vetting process so that I didn't waste my time.