Well, update:
After a friend recommended me, and got me a phone interview, I took an online test at their request. In that request, the recruiter said he had a "great time" conversing, and that he "looked forward to progressing through the interview process" with me. I take the test, and think I did well... turns out, I rocked it. 20/20, and the HR person said she was "thrilled, and loved my samples that I provided." I learned from the friend who recommended me that perfect scores are rare.
Anyway, they call me to set up an interview, and ask me when I can be there. I asked them what was most convenient for them, and that I would do my best to make it work. They said Friday, I said okay - it was two days away.
NOTE: I'm ****ing BROKE. Super broke. I sell a couple vidya games to buy gas. It's about a 500 mile trip there and back.
Anyway, moving on, I'm feeling really good. They're a more casual/"creative" place, so I ditched the suit, and went for slacks, dress shoes, a button-up, and rolled up sleeves. Once I got their, I knew I nailed the look... so whew!
They're running a bit behind, so I wait in the lobby for about 20 minutes (but I got there 5 early, so really only 15 is on them). They offer me a beer, lol. I decline, but ask for a water.
We go to this huge as conference room, but it's only me, my phone interview guy, and the woman that would be working directly above me.
Anyway, they begin asking the strangest questions. What is rich to you? What's your favorite movie quote? Etc. Everything seemed kinda obvious in that there were two answers... you can say the obvious (lots of money makes you rich) or you can be a kissass (family makes you rich). Nevertheless, for every question, I felt I absolutely rocked it. Looking back, I wouldn't have changed a single answer.
They just didn't seem to give me much feedback. I kept thinking I'm nailing these questions, being polite, giving examples, proving knowledge of the company, making jokes, bring relevance, etc, etc. But things just felt off.
After about 35 minutes, they thank me for my time, tell me they really enjoyed the interview, and that they were interested in me but it might take a couple weeks to hear anything. No biggie, glad it went well.
But it just felt so off when I left. I was confident, but yet I felt worse off than before the interview.
WELP! Last Wed it all came together. A couple days short of a week later, I figure I'd ask the girl that recommended me if she had heard anything. She tells me yeah, that unfortunately, they hired someone already. ... just a couple days after my first interview.
May not seem like much... but I know for a fact that in-person interviews are a three-round process. And my friend confirmed that this lady they hired had her third interview and got hired right after I (and a few others) had only just had our first interview. It made sense... I'm almost certain their minds were practically made before I even got to the first question of my interview :-(
Ugh.
I even sent two hand-written thank you cards in the mail the day after my interview. ... I never even got a call to inform me that they hired someone, even though I was told I'd probably still be in the running and I'd get a call.
I'm still thankful the girl threw my name in. She was great, and I appreciate her attempted help. But I'm really upset with how the company handled the whole thing. They seemed great, and I really think I'd have been wonderful for the position. I liked the two interviewers, too. I could have brought a lot to that company. But, I thought it was pretty crappy they had people coming for first round interviews when they were also having people return for their third and final round of interviews.
Meh, hopefully another door will open soon...
