I was referred for the position through a former colleague. I received a phone call within an hour from the recruiter. A few weeks later, I got e-mailed to come in for the selection day. I couldn't make the day work, and they initially said that unfortunately that would mean I wouldn't be considered. Two weeks later, they e-mailed me again and said I could complete pre-work online and come in later for an in-person interview. I did all the work, submitted it, and got an e-mail a few hours later inviting me for an interview for the following week. (It turned out they gave me the wrong address, which I only found out by checking the morning of - that probably should have been a red flag). The interview went well and they asked to screen my references, which they did, and told me a few days later that they'd follow up by the end of the week with "next steps." I got a phone call from a recruiter at the end of the week saying that they didn't actually know if it was in their budget to have this position and if they did get their budget approved, they'd probably go with an internal candidate who has been interested in the position for years. Although each individual I met with seemed find, I'm pretty shocked at what a mess their recruitment process is, and felt very frustrated that they went so far as to connect with my references, despite having known all along that the job might not exist and that if it did they would hire internally. I feel like I may have dodged a bullet.