Submitted an application, received an email the next day from a recruiter asking to do a phone screening. Took the phone screening with the recruiter and was then asked via email the next day to come in for an in-person interview. Agreed to come in for the in-person, found out shortly after that it would be a 5 1/2 hour interview with 5 or 6 different individuals. Was interested in the role, so took an entire day off from my current job to come in and meet with the team. Felt like the interviews went very well, was told that I would hear about next steps 1-2 business days later, which is where things got very unprofessional.
After not hearing back regarding the outcome of the interview for several days, I reached out to the recruiter for an update. She told me several times that the team was still discussing next steps, and that I would have an answer soon. Recruiter eventually stopped responding to my emails, I still have no idea what the status of the role is..for all I know, I could still be in the running - ha!
I find it SO disrespectful to ask a candidate to come in for a 5 1/2 hour day, take off an entire day of work, and then to hear radio silence regarding the interview shortly thereafter. I thought that the 5 1/2 interview for a first in-person was a bit excessive at first, as the screening process really was so quick and vague, but had heard many good things about the company so I didn't have much of an issue taking the time out of my day/work to come in and learn more about the opportunity.
Some advice to Merck: If multiple people are expected to interview a candidate,for a role, perhaps group 2-3 associates together at once to speak with the candidate, instead of making a candidate sit and talk through their resume 5-6 different times within a 5 1/2 hour period. Regardless of the outcome of the interview (hire/no hire), be honest and upfront with candidates and keep them in the loop instead of falling off the face of the earth with no explanation! Again, so rude and so disrespectful of my time.