I was referred by a former colleague who had previously interviewed with the company for another position. The referral was taken seriously as my former colleague was offered a position (but turned it down), and I was immediately put in touch with the head of business development who is also the founder of the company. He asked me first to speak with the in-house recruiter. I spoke to the recruiter for 45 minutes on the phone. It went well, so he suggested we schedule time for me to come to their office to meet the head of business development. Due to travel schedules, the meeting was scheduled 10 days later. I first met with the recruiter for about 30 minutes. It was helpful in that he told me about candidates who had come before me, and areas where they fell short, and he also told me about the company, its growth, and the importance of the role I was interviewing for (especially since it would be working with/for the founder of the company). At the same time, I detected a bit of arrogance about how challenging the work environment is, that people work long hours at a very fast pace, and that everyone is very, very smart. He also said that the founder is super bright and very difficult to please. About 15 minutes after we finished, the head of BD/founder came in, and we began our discussion. Despite his youthful appearance, he presented himself well and began by asking me some good questions about what I'm interested in doing in my next role, and he also asked some specific questions about experiences highlighted on my resume. About halfway through our hour together, I asked him questions about the general market direction and then also about certain competitors, and his tone turned a bit defensive. I thought it was a good dialog, but perhaps the founder was taken aback by the talk of competitors. In any event, I told him I was interested in learning more, meeting more people. He expressed the same, though he said he would have to check with the recruiter, and then the recruiter would get back to me. I left, and later that day I sent a thank-you email to both of the individuals I met, indicating high interest in continuing the interview process. After a week and no contact from either of them, I re-sent the email to make sure they got it. After two more days, and no reply, I called the recruiter and left a voice message. After several more days went by, I reiterated my inquiry via email, but also gave them an "out" if they had decided to move on and focus on other candidates. I simply wanted to hear from them so I could know where I stood, and learn from any feedback they could provide. Again, I heard nothing, not even, "We have filled the position, thank you for your interest." As of this writing, the job is still posted as available.
