Application was initially declined after brief email correspondence with no screening call. Received a phone call out of the blue 2 months later (first week of January), was phone screened on the spot at 5:30pm and asked to attend an in-person interview with less than 24 hours’ notice. Interviewed and was immediately invited for a second round which was so urgent it had to be conducted the next day (a Friday) on the other side of the city as the hiring manager was working from home. 2nd round was conducted in a cafe round the corner from the hiring manager's house and again took place with less than 24 hours’ notice. Hiring manager confirmed I would be put through to the next stage to meet stakeholders the following week. This did not happen and after no feedback / moves to schedule the agreed next stage over that week, I was contacted to advise the role was now 'on hold' with no further explanation offered. Completely understandable that budgets and plans change, but the whole process was chaotic and a really poor candidate experience.

The individuals I interviewed with were professional, impressive, asked great questions and the meetings themselves were valuable in terms of understanding the role and the organization. I felt I had strong report with all whom I met in the process. However after being referred by an OMERS employee and attending 3 lengthy interviews, there was zero follow-up and I never ever heard back. I still have no idea if they hired someone for the role (I don't think so based on what my referrer said) or whether they put the position on hold or cancelled it altogether. I felt sorry for the recruiter because I kept following up with her and she kept saying she had not been able to get an update from the hiring leader. It was obvious she felt uncomfortable and embarrassed about the situation, and I just stopped following up. This was a very poor candidate experience so I would never consider an opportunity at this organization in future. The non-existence a follow up (even to say I didn't get the job) and zero feedback were shocking for what I considered at the time to be a professional and well regarded organization. It's also extremely disrespectful to me given the time I invested in the process, taking time away from work, etc. Sometimes an interview process is a direct reflection on how an organization does business, or its culture, so perhaps I dodged a bullet....