I was contacted by a recruiter on LinkedIn, who was responsible for my candidacy throughout the interview process. We first spoke on the phone to screen me for a first round. For my first round, I had a Zoom call with a senior engineer who asked me about my approach to problem solving, systems design, and tested my interpersonal skills. That lasted about 1 hour.
I was then informed that I would be passed on to the final round of interviews, and that they would all take place on-site at their offices, and that the entire day would last about 3 hours. The interviews were scheduled for about 5 days later, the following week. That Friday, with 4 days left before the final round, another recruiter (I nicknamed him "chuckles" because of how often and inappropriately he would laugh on the phone for no reason), who was filling in for my primary recruiter who was out of the office, called to let me know that my interviewers were "no longer available". It took him about 60 seconds to say so, which left me wondering from the moment I picked up the phone 1) why the recruiter was chuckling so frequently and 2) what the problem would be. It took 3 days to re-schedule the interview, and it had to be broken into two parts, one half virtual via Zoom and the other half in-person as intended. This was the first sign that there may be internal problems related to organization and efficiency.
Now, that was only slightly irritating, and I was willing to overlook it. But after driving home from a family vacation (shame on me) and spending 2.5 hours on-site at their office, my primary recruiter, who greeted me that day and gave me the office tour, ghosted me completely. She told me she would at least give me an update on their decision by the next day, which never came, and 6 business days after my in-person interview, I sent her an email asking about the status of my candidacy. She never responded. It has now been 17 days, and I do not expect a response, nor would I re-engage with this company if I did receive a response.
This was extremely unprofessional, disorganized, and inconsiderate. Interviewing is taxing for candidates, especially in a tight job market. While I understand being unable to follow up with all prospects in the very early stages of the process, when a candidate who has taken the time to come on-site is awaiting a decision after the final round, I feel that the recruiter MUST follow up with at least an email to close the loop. In hindsight, I am relieved that I did not accept an offer with this firm.