I was approached via email by the recruiter for the position who wanted to have a phone conversation with me. While scheduling the conversation, it switched to the hiring manager who I spoke with directly. We chatted about my previous and current research, as well as a little bit about the role itself. At the end of the conversation, I was invited to come out to present my research and meet the team. What followed was a several weeks long cat-and-mouse game with the recruiter who initially reached out to me. Over the course of several phone calls, it went from trying to get everybody's schedules aligned, to putting me into a holding pattern of sorts, to not being responsive, and then ultimately to declining my candidacy due to the position being filled. Given that this cat-and-mouse game lasted so long (probably around 6 weeks), I honestly have no idea what was going on, especially since the hiring manager seemed sincere in the invitation to interview in person.