I'm not a recruiter, but this experience certainly ran contrary to most best practices in that field. I'm almost unsure if this was even an ethical process. It was very demoralizing and disappointing - certainly not honest. Every step of the process was cancelled, re-scheduled, or in some cases, simply never completed.
For starters, the internal recruiter reached out to me and asked me to apply for the position. Then after a number of communications back and forth (I had to continually advise that I was out of town on a business trip and couldn't meet), we settled on a time for a call. The recruiter did not call me at the scheduled time, and reached out the next week to re-schedule. I then was given an interview with the hiring manager for this position and had never been informed that this was a video call until after the call had begun, and the other individual asked to see my face.
I was then invited on-site for an afternoon of four interviews with several people, all of whom were incredibly friendly. The tone was casual and enjoyable. On the walk out of the building, the recruiter indicated to me that they "loved" me (specifically including the name of the director whom I would have reported to) and that I would definitely hear back by 3:00 pm (at the latest) the following day with a verbal offer. That did not happen. I normally do not expect such feedback, but when I receive it, I generally would think it means something other than just hollowness.
A week and a half drug by, and they invited me to a final interview as they wanted to "move forward" with my candidacy. I was to be available THAT DAY or the following day. I cleared my schedule, replied and indicated I'd do anything to make myself available. I emailed a few times asking, and then that final interview piece never took place. They just ghosted me.
The part where they were "excited to move forward" never materialized. I don't even know what "moving forward" meant unless it was simply that I sat waiting for more time. The following week, I received an email from the recruiter that the team "decided to pass" (those words) on my candidacy and invited me to apply for other positions. I have an extremely specific skills set, which was a fit for this position. If this wasn't a fit, nothing was going to be at the company.
Again, the recruiter initially reached out to me and asked me to apply. I am unsure why they sought me out so that I could go through this process and accomplish nothing.
This is the first time I have ever posted any feedback on interviews online. Employers are typically gracious and respectful, even when I am not offered a position. I've simply never seen anything like this. Lastly, I had two other offers from other companies during this time that I chose to decline based on the positive feedback I was receiving all along the way from the recruiter (specifically the part where I’d get a verbal offer the following day). I realize that was my choice, but it’s worth noting here.