First step was a phone screen with the office manager, pretty normal conversation. After that I was invited to a 1:1 interview at the office with the same manager. They also had me take an aptitude test with the most bizarre questions. After that I was told I needed to have a skype interview with one of the co-owners who lives in another state. That went well and basically he just wanted to hear about my experience. About a week after that I had to do a skype interview again with the other co-owner who also lives out of state with pretty much the same questions asked.
About a week or two after the last skype interview they started to check my references. They only spoke to 2 out of the 5 they called. The other references did return the phone call in a timely manner, but they weren't contacted again. After 3+ weeks I reached out to both the co-owner and the manager for an update knowing they spoke with at least two of my references. They NEVER got back to me. I find it very unprofessional that one of them couldn't take the time to hit "reply" and send me a quick email letting me know that I was no longer in the running. Also, I know that my references were good because they are the same references I've used in the past. I've kept a great relationship with my references and recently accepted a new job using those same exact references. I've never had a company just go silent and not respond in some fashion, especially for a managerial position. I've worked in the HR field for many years and have always kept candidates in the loop either via phone, email or a simple standard rejection letter.
Advice to management: A simple reply back to an email goes a long way. "We have decided to move forward with another candidate. Thank you for your time."
