Interview process was pretty straightforward. Went through 4 rounds.
1st round, a screening interview. No surprises.
2nd round, included the hiring manager and one other manager. They seemed really focused on prior consulting experience. While I worked in consultative roles that included proposal work, value propositions, and deal closings, my résumé didn't list a named consulting firm. They understandably wanted to dig in to it more. I was confident I addressed all concerns and objections there well enough to have been advanced to the 3rd round.
3rd round, included prep and presentation of a consulting/solution design for a fictitious enterprise. They estimated this would take a "few hours" to prepare (I thought: 3 or 4?). But the reality was about 5x that when you factor research, ideation, prep, practice, refinement, practice, practice, practice. But, I took it in stride; it's a competitive market. And I appreciated that they offered nominal compensation for the effort. So, classy move.
The presentation was to the same 2 managers plus a senior leader. From all indications, it went well. Feedback seemed very positive with phrases like "...impressive...", "...well spoken...", "...seems like a fit...". I was advanced to a 4th round.
4th round, was a one-on-one with the senior leader from round 3. It was informal and conversational. A "get to know you" chat ahead of what seemed to be an imminent offer to be made the following week. There were no red flags.
Then...silence. After about a week and half I received word that they "decided to move in another direction." (*sigh*)
My take? It felt like my offer letter was in the works but when it went up the chain, someone I never had a chance to meet and who didn't interview me, took a pass based on the whole consultant objections I had already cleared weeks earlier with the hiring leaders.
It was an unfortunate disappointment, especially given the time and energy invested by the hiring managers who otherwise seemed onboard with my, uh, onboarding.
