Applied in July and was contacted pretty quickly. The interview process consisted of: a phone interview with a recruiter, followed very quickly by an interview with the hiring manager. From there, I was told that I would be moving quickly to the next phase which consisted of meeting with my would-be 2 peers, HR and the hiring manager's manager. This, again, happened very quickly. Roughly 5 weeks in total from application to this point. I did my due diligence in advance, knew quite a lot about the company due to their affiliation with my current company....in the interview with the hiring manager, I even asked the "dreaded question" of "Is there anything about my qualifications that give you pause about my ability to succeed in the role?". I got an immediate and emphatic "no...you're qualified, seem to be a great culture fit, etc." followed by a flippant "the only thing might be your lack of DEPTH of knowledge of the vertical, which can be learned". So, excitedly, I went home.... and commenced the process of immersion. Bought 3 e-books, studied them cover to cover, consulted with peers in the industry, and even my executive mentor expecting a positive outcome. I was told that by hiring manager that he would be looking to make a decision within 2 weeks, max. The hiring manager even asked for references sounded positive right?? With a certain degree of hesitation (I have a job after all) I sent over a handful replete with emails/phone numbers of balanced references. None of them were contacted- not a single one. Not a single follow-up from the company either, nothing to even keep me warm. "I" followed up 6 times. Why, you wonder? Because each time I did I was told I was definitely in the running... but they kept adding people into the interview mix. My last interaction as in response to me last follow up- it was a benign "we have opted to go another direction".... after 3 months and a boatload of (now obviously) platitudes. After a total of 39 emails in the application thread... pretty indicative of a lot of interaction and perceived interest one would think. They are still posting for the role, in other words, recruiting. I still haven't gotten the requisition tool punt yet with the generic thanks, but no thanks email. So, not sure what the different direction since everything in the posting is the same. When I met with the HR leader, I commented on their LinkedIN career profile and how slick I thought it was, what with the employee videos and was asked "whichever direction this goes, if you write a review on glassdoor or something we'd love to have that mentioned." Here you go. Interesting fact, I lost out on an opportunity during the process because I was made to feel exquisitely confident in this one. I was very candid with the hiring manager, and the recruiter about this other opportunity but was reassured I was in the top x of the pool and thanked for my patience. So, I decided to hold out and see how it played out. To say that I am disappointed in the entire thing is an understatement. Some feedback: 1) Be real. Like, really real. 2) Follow up. 3) Treat executive interviews as just that and don't waste someone's time-especially when they have been exceedingly flexible in meeting your schedules and responding to queries. 4)Remember that, in the recruitment process, the candidate is assessing you just as much as you are them. 5)If you decide to "go another direction", especially at this level, some feedback as to why someone is not considered is usually in order, offered and appreciated. Certainly leaves a bad taste in my mouth....And makes me worry about my close peers in the account management division that handle the account.