The first email I received was on April 26th, congratulating me for making it through the first vetting phase of the hiring process. Then, I booked a phone screen interview with a member of HR on May 2nd. It went well and I moved on to the next phase, an interview with the hiring manager. That was scheduled for May 16th. I felt as though that interview also went well and I was asked to perform an editing test and email it back to the hiring manager within the next week. I sent it to him the following Monday (May 22nd) and did not receive any recognition that it was received or any feedback. I received an email from the same HR person I had my first phone screen interview with on May 31st that "Our Publications team has been busy and unfortunately, the interview process is taking a bit longer than expected. I just wanted to let you know that you are still in consideration for Production Editor role and we hope to have a decision to you soon." I had the feeling at this point that I was a runner-up, since I hadn't been asked to schedule an in-person interview. A week later, June 6th, I get an email telling me they went with different applicants. I'm disappointed I didn't get the job, but I'm not angry about that. I am extremely upset that I was strung along for 6 weeks. The Mercatus Center needs to significantly cut down the hiring process time. Those who do not get hired will ultimately miss out on other opportunities while waiting for a decision.