The interview process reminded me of a bad dating experience. I responded to a posting by submitting my resume online. Literally months later, I heard from them requesting an interview. It had been so long that I had completely forgotten that I’d applied. Nevertheless, I went through the initial screen and was met with an enthusiastic response. Over the course of the next few weeks, I interviewed at an aggressive pace with no fewer than seven people, including the top executive of the hiring department. Everyone I spoke with was professional and personable. At the conclusion of my interview cycle, I’ll admit I was pretty confident. Who goes through eight interviews for nothing? When I went back to check the position posting for a few details to write my follow-up thank-you notes, I saw the position had been reposted with a different location - after my interviews had concluded. I emailed the interview coordinator about the re-post. I told her that if this new location was an option for the position - or if it was a different position - that I’d like to be considered for that position/location. That’s when things got weird. The usually highly responsive coordinator’s responses started coming later and later. Her answers were vague. She avoided answering direct questions. That’s when I knew the bloom was off the rose. Even still, I held out hope. After several weeks of being ghosted, I sent an email to check in on the status of the position. I received the “Dear John” response of job interviews: “After long and thoughtful consideration they have decided to continue their search for a director. And thus will pass on your candidacy at this time.” While I’m disappointed that I didn’t receive an offer and annoyed at the amount of time I spent engaging in this process for naught, I can live with it. What’s really disturbing is the confirmations of my suspicions: when they reposted the job with a new location, they were fishing for new candidates. Obviously at that point they had decided I wasn’t “the one” and they should have told me then. But they didn’t. They kept me on the back burner, just in case nothing better came along, I suppose. I had other job prospects I was trying to weigh - not to mention a pending real estate closing! - and I put it all on hold pending the outcome of these interviews. I was transparent with my coordinator, telling her that there were other opportunities but that PayPal’s opportunity was my first choice. The sad thing is that I had to ask them to find out the status of my candidacy. If I had waited for them, who knows if I would have ever heard back? I hope this doesn’t come across as “sour grapes.” I’m philosophical about this kind of stuff and believe everything happens for a reason. So I’m fine with the rejection, truly. What I’m not fine with is the disingenuous way they chose to handle this process, leaving me hanging for weeks and weeks while they tried to find someone better. That’s not the way to treat people and, if that’s a reflection of how they treat prospective employees, employees and customers, they aren’t a company I want to associate with. It’s too bad, PayPal. We had a good thing going.