TL;DR: disorganized, unclear process lead to a grueling gauntlet of interviews. Most individuals I spoke with were cordial enough.
Roughly three weeks after initially applying online and not hearing anything in the interim, I received a phone call from an HR rep who briefly introduced herself before launching directly into an initial screening interview. There was no real transition -- we were about three questions deep before I realized it was a full-on interview and not just small talk. 20 minutes later, she invited me to the office for a face-to-face early the next week. After accepting and hanging up, I received an email confirmation that did not come from a company address and was not signed with more than the HR rep's name. The entire thing to this point felt a bit skeevy and more than a little disjointed, so I was sure to let a few friends and family know exactly where and when I was going to be interviewing, just in case. Upon arriving, the office space and the people there seemed mostly normal, so I chalked my trepidation up to disorganization and allowed my apprehension to wane.
I was greeted by the person who would be the position's direct supervisor, and we sat down and got straight to it. He didn't actually give me his name or bother with any of the usual pleasantries -- just dove into the interview. Overall, that conversation was pleasant, but mere moments after he prompted me to ask any questions of my own, there came a knock on the door and in walked another gentleman, who I assumed must have had a time-slot reservation on the conference room, as my interviewer hastily excused himself and made for the door.
I started to follow, but was informed the newcomer was actually here to interview me some more. A little odd, but nothing to do but run with it at that point. This interviewer asked a lot of the same questions I had just answered, and kept furtively looking at the time, like a school kid waiting for the final bell to ring.
The end of our time came, and with almost mechanical efficiency, I was whisked off to meet the CIO. He was a genuinely charming fellow and a breath of fresh air in the midst of this whole ordeal. We had a great 15-minute conversation about the company's vision, culture, and some of my work experience, though he freely admitted he had no real say in the hiring process.
It's worth mentioning here that at no time was I given any notion of what this overall process might look like. I went in expecting an interview, and to this point had gone through three. Thinking that surely everyone who wanted to speak to me must have done so by now, I sat down in the corner and started in on some application paperwork I had been given. After a few moments, I was approached by a pair of other developers, who were to be yet another interview round. All told, the four back-to-back interviews took nearly two and a half hours -- an exhausting process, to say the least.
Looking back on the actual technical conversations in hindsight, it was pretty apparent that my development style and theirs wouldn't be a great fit. I appreciated that the HR rep took the time to call me the following afternoon and confirm just that.
