I experienced all rounds of the hiring process, culminating in reference and work sample requests as well as a final panel interview. While Teaching Lab moved quickly between interviews, and I could tell that the talent manager was making every effort to remain transparent, something strange happened after my final interview. About once a week for the 5 weeks after the final interview, I was told that there was just a bit more deliberation to go, and then that another candidate was sick and needed more time to complete their final interview, and so on, with reasons becoming stranger as the timeline was progressively further extended. Before rescinding my candidacy, about 10 weeks after my first interview, when another final decision deadline came and went, I sent a final email to share that I needed confirmation of a decision to proceed with alternative job offers. In response to this email, the truthfully kind talent manager shared they had decided to hire an internal candidate instead.
The situation over the last 3 months raised red flags around the organization’s ability to communicate and collaborate across internal teams, stay aligned on a given timeline or, in the event a timeline won’t be possible, keep external stakeholders in the loop, and most importantly to stick to their word. If you are at the top of your career and know you will bring a great deal of value in your next role, I might advise skipping this organization and focusing your efforts on more reputable ones. Good luck on your search!