An agency contacted me about a prospective opportunity. After a chat with the hiring manager on the phone, I was invited in to meet with the team and tour the HQ. The whole process was very enjoyable, pleasant people, some chats felt more like coffees than interviews. At the end, the HM said he thought the team liked me, described to me what concerns he had, and said he'd like to see a presentation deck before moving to next steps. I had roughly a weekend to do it. My main point of contact at this time was the agency, so they were the back and forth. After a painful week of waiting, the agency calls me with the good news that I'm a top-2 candidate and that they liked my written assignment the best, and it's time to move to a reference check. I was asked for 5 references, all of whom completed their write-up (the agency uses SkillSurvey) within 24-48 hours. The agency confirms the "reference check cleared / went well." Then nothing. A week passes by, another. The agency is clueless what happened. Finally, about 2 weeks after it all, the agency tells me that "they loved me, but went with a different choice". Evidently someone they extended an offer to who was negotiating, possibly an internal hire. While I really enjoyed the process up till that point, the last-minute twist left me pretty surprised because 1) I kept hearing I am a top runner and all but positives (including any areas of concern that the HM and I had discussed our plan around) and 2) I wasted 5 of my references' goodwill, just to disappoint them that this didn't come to fruition after a very long process. I still think positively of the company and the team, as well as the agency (though they seemed to have little influence there, and some gaps in communication), and I'd work for them if the chance presents itself. I think that the 1 little nugget or flag OR unfortunate timing (ie an internal hire came through) were enough, and reminded me that you are not only measured on your individual performance, which may even wind up being a 9/10, but you are competing against others at all times, through the end. It hurts not being the top choice!