When I say the interview process was difficult, it wasn't because they asked complex questions, but because it was difficult in that it was disorganized. I made the HUGE mistake of telling my interviewer the interview process was professional. In reality, after doing a self-feedback of the entire process, it was probably the better YMCA interviews (I've interviewed three times previously with the YMCA at different locations), but when comparing it to other places I've interviewed, it was probably in the bottom tier.
Overall about a 3-hour interview (something I did not know beforehand) because my interviewer gave me the impression that it was your standard 1-hour interview, but my interviewer failed to elaborate that. As a result, I was given a tour of the facility by my interviewer, then proceeded to an office where I was interviewed by my interviewer and another leadership member. Afterwards, I was escorted to another room where I was interviewed by three rounds of different members of leadership in that YMCA, at least 12 members. There was no real organization when I was interviewed by the three rounds of YMCA leadership. There were about 3 people out of that 12+ people who were clearly engaged. Others....I could sense in their body language that they kind of checked-out, some of those who were checked out were just doodling on my resume and generally spacing out. My main interviewer even sensed some were checked out and had to force them to ask some type of question.
The interesting part of my 3-hour interview process was that I found out that the previous aquatics director didn't leave on good terms....something that I didn't give me a whole lot of motivation to really want, want the job, plus the tentative salary offer by my interviewer was either low or nebulous. I later found out that I knew the previous aquatics director and was in my connection circle, and they gave me the low-down on the job.
It would have been nice to pursue a job that was different than the job I had been doing for almost the past decade and that matched up with my graduate degree in sports management, but after going through 4 disorganized to mediocre interviews with the YMCA total, I can say that I am finished with pursuing any future with the YMCA other than being a member and going there to swim laps, provided they have a steady aquatics director.
I haven't heard from them. My past experiences with the YMCA is that they don't give you the courtesy and respect of telling you if you got the job or not, they usually ignore you until you go away. I got a job offer (a few days later) to a fun job that pays twice as much and the interviewers and the process was professional and respectful. Even if the South City YMCA had offered me the job, I wouldn't take it.
In all, this was kind of a "sure, why not, couldn't hurt to interview" interview.