I was a victim of a sham interview by both the Battelle senior HR rep in Ohio and the local hiring manager in Charlottesville (the potential boss). In retrospect, I now realize that the bubbly HR rep clearly used me to meet her monthly quota of interviews with Battelle hiring managers. She actually missed the appt. she scheduled for my first phone interview, then apologized profusely (with emojis, no less). On the 2nd try, she was so enthusiastic about my qualifications that I thought I had the job in the bag, even before the interview with the hiring manager. She even upped my salary expectations by 20K -- from 50 to 70K, due to my level of experience! She also told me that she had already had an extensive discussion with the hiring manager about me, and that he was equally impressed by my qualifications and eager to interview me. Both thought I was a "perfect fit" for the job, she said. It took a few days for the manager to contact me by phone, and the first thing he asked was what position I was interested in, as if he was completely unfamiliar with my application. During the conversation he seemed reluctant to set up an in-person interview but did so anyway, and included 4 of the staff (for the optics of it, I guess). At the end of the 1hr 15min interview, this guy said I would hear in 2 more weeks if I would be chosen for a second interview with upper management. Two weeks came and went, so when I emailed, I got an auto-reply that he was on vacation for another week. Rude. Finally after 2 emails and a phone call to the HR rep, she replied that I was passed over for the job. In her email she had copied the manager's comments from my file listing the reasons, which were actually things he made up to justify my rejection, including that my resume did not have the proper qualifications for the job! Really?? Then why put me through all of that? You can't make this stuff up! I feel like I was used by both of them to their own ends, but on the other hand I've asked myself if I really want to work for a company that conducts its business in such a shoddy and deceitful manner? I think not.