I began my application in the middle of June 2017 via a posting on Advanced Clinical's career portal. The formal process began with an email to take a personality assessment which was able to be completed within about 30 minutes.
Approximately 2 weeks later, I received a follow-up email from a recruiter requesting to schedule a time to speak via phone. That interview lasted about 15 minutes, after which she responded that she would be in touch after reviewing with her team.
Within a few days, the recruiter reached out again to set up a series of 4 interviews with different staff members at the office of the job posting. I interviewed with a CTA, In-House CRA, Project Manager, and Director of Clinical Monitoring. All of the interviews were conducted remotely via webcam and phone. All of the interviewers were very friendly and pleasant. The interviews consisted of background review, some situational questions, and some general industry knowledge questions. Upon completing all four interviews, I was again contacted by the same recruiter who said that she would be in touch regarding the next steps, and provide feedback from this round of interviews. This step was completed roughly a month and a half after my initial application (End of July).
Up until this point my experience had been very positive and I was excited about the opportunity with the company. This would change however over the next few weeks. After weekly follow-up communication spanning a months time, I had still not received any sort of timeline or feedback regarding my application or interviews. Each time that I would make contact, the recruiter would communicate that I was still under consideration; however no other details were provided.
In the meantime, I had received another offer that required a response, so I made another attempt to reach out regarding my status. It had now been over two months since the initial application (Mid-August). The recruiter responded that she would speak with the hiring manager to get more information. The very next day I received an email from the hiring manager stating that the position had been cancelled due to lack of resources and need. The email did not specify anything else, and I never received any feedback regarding my interviews.
Overall, the length and lack of clarity throughout my application process was highly disappointing. Surely keeping someone on the hook for over two months only to cancel the position is a tad unprofessional. I have nothing bad to say about Advanced Clinical, as the people who I interviewed with were very professional and pleasant; however the interior company (Advanced RPO) in charge of recruitment and staffing was very difficult.
My suggestion would be to make the process shorter and be more clear with applicants about where they are in the process.