Hotwire has one of the most efficient interviewing processes I've encountered. I applied 4 weeks ago to an ad of their's on dice.com and hoped to at least get noticed. I got email contact from their HR/Recruiter, and set up an initial phone screen with him 2 weeks ago. My first phone screen went very well, and I was invited to do a phone screen with the hiring manager 3 days later. The second phone screen went well in parts, I felt, not so well in others, but ended on a good and enthusiastic note. I was really surprised when I heard less than 2 hours later that the interview did go well, and that I was going to be interviewed onsite in the coming week. The in-person interview was with the hiring manager, 2 other support managers & their vp of operations. Each interviewer had a pre-ordained, specific question set: technical questions, situational ones, mental twisters (yes, this is a company related to the Microsoft world) and soft skills ones.
I found the interviewers engaging, focused on making the best of the moment. Their questions were fair and thought provoking.
After the 4 interviewers were done, I returned to the HR/Recruiter who let me know the followup and notification process: that this was the 1 in person interview for the chosen candidates; that I was the last candidate being interviewed; and that I would be notified of the results by the end of the next day. True to their word I received an email from the recruiter the next afternoon asking for a time when I would be available to talk. He called me later that afternoon, thanked me very much for my time and stated that an offer had been extended to another candidate. I thanked him for being totally up front and professional, as well as respectful of my time and committments. I was slightly disappointed that I didn't get the job, but was truly impressed with the corporate culture of hotwire. This was the most professional, yet humble, interviewing cycle I've been through in some time, and I have nothing but the utmost respect for this company.