This was one of the worst interview experiences of my life. I’ll spare the details leading up to it, but the day itself was long and tortuous. Eight-hours+ of interviewing with people who asked the same questions over and over again. Some of which made no sense in terms of what the interviewer was looking for in terms of an answer. Poor internet connection on campus for virtual interviews led to choppy dialog, videos in and out and having to repeat oneself over and over again. Following the long-day adventure, more interviews virtually the following week. Again, repeat questions asked. Then, weeks of silence just to be followed up with a generic “no thanks” email. The killer was another candidate already worked there and was around on the interview day, so was told to act like I was a salesperson. Then, was told by many they really like to promote from within. Awesome - glad to hear. It seems like a more phased approach would have been more helpful and they could have weaned me out much earlier. But, we know that companies/academia like to have “options” or be able to prove why an internal candidate is the best choice, so am annoyed that I was the “fall person” to prove that. Maybe I was, maybe I wasn’t. But, it sure felt like a huge waste of time for all involved due to the poor planning overall.