---to be clear --- \ Glassdooor should be offering "turned down offer" and "it's complicated" not just "offered role/not offered role." -------- But this is a good story. Was asked to interview back in June - then before I could told that that they'd made an offer - then re-approached in August because the candidate said no. I should have seen that red flag. Very friendly recruiters, clearly using the Zapier platform as I received no less than 27 emails asking me to block off significant calendar time for future interviews "in case" I was moved forward. The emails had very similar subject lines, it was very hard to keep them straight. (While working a more than full time job and managing a team.) Initially, this second time around, I met with - a recruiter. She was friendly, had been the one who'd told me previously that they'd made an offer and now acted as if that had never happened. I was impressed by her knowledge of the space I was interviewing for, but not with her disappearance after that discussion when the flood of emails came from her scheduler. I did email her to ask about the extensive time I was being asked to protect, which resulted in... more emails - with an oddly chipper tone, as though they expect candidates to have nothing going on but interviewing with Zapier. I passed the recruiter stage and was asked to interview with someone who would be a peer, as the hiring manager was on vacation. I was concerned about how the outcome would be calibrated against other candidates who actually spoke with the hiring manager, and said so. There wasn't a good answer for that. But it was a chipper not-good answer. They also asked that I put together a single, lengthy customized case study for them if I passed this second not-hiring-manager discussion, and that I schedule time to present that, but to not start work on it until I received word that I'd passed the "hiring manager" interview. We all know those things take a lot of time to put together, especially when customization is requested. I was told - again, chipper - "it should take you 1-2 days to complete," by the recruiter, or the scheduler - can't recall. That's incredibly unrealistic, unless I am on an island with no job, team, family, pets or anything else to do. === Here, I made it clear they were boxing me into a very small timeline to put something together, based on their timely response as to whether I was "moving forward" and was told I'd hear within two hours after my "hiring manager" interview. Which would have left me two weekends to chip away at their custom case study as well as my own job. ===== I also made it clear that I was not only concerned that I was being interviewed by "not the hiring manager" to get to the presentation phase, but that I was being brought back in late in the process with other candidates already having passed that phase. A lot lot stacked against my odds, despite my superpowers. Recruiter floated poodles and balloons about continuing. Chipper. I met with the "peer," - in place of the hiring manager - who was terrific, and invested in the conversation, but more so focused on their area of the org versus the one I was applying for, which I did not get a good opportunity to showcase my skills in. But, it was pleasant, and this person represented the company well, and was someone I would have liked to work with. To be clear: The 2-hour window within which you are meant to hear back after the "hiring manager" discussion is, as others have noted, completely untrue. It took them a full 5 days to respond with - you guessed it = we have a candidate we're making an offer to that's further along in the process. I am so glad I didn't start work on an hour-long single case study for them. They seem to be living in a bit of a bubble around the ability for people managers at tech companies to pre-protect calendar time, and swiftly pull together ad-hoc customized hour long presentations. I get a sense it's a good young company, but will be turning my attention back to proven, established brands with heft. I bit young in their approach to hiring in leadership.