The interview process was horrible! Very discouraged once I spoke with the recruiter. I received what I thought was a spam email, after researching the domain name I found that it was in fact sent from the hiring manager. I responded with my times available. Interview went great from what I perceived. The hiring manager seemed interested and asked that I contact her directly if I had any questions. I then received a call from the recruiter asking for my references. 2 hiring managers were REQUIRED and 3 remaining were normal business references. I found this to be quite difficult as my previous managers were no longer with my old employment I was fortunate enough to have a great rapport with a few old colleagues and was able to gain contact.
Once completed I insisted on following up to get more information on what to expect, however when I spoke with the recruiter she just told me that they are still reviewing at that time. What caught me by surprise is when she asked about my expected salary range. When I confirmed she replied "oh they are not going to pay you that much for this position!" I was highly offended by this especially after doing my research and my 8 years of experience it was reasonable. I asked if she could tell me what the projected salary would be? She stated that the compensation department would review and provide she wouldn't know. At this point I truly was no longer enthused. After the call I heard nothing from both the manager or recruiter for almost 3 1/2 weeks.
I sent a follow up email to both and received out of office replies. After another weekend had passed, I then received a call from the recruiter stating that she had received my email and that I was still a finalist and that she was waiting to hear back from the hiring manager. The next day I received an email stating that I was no longer a finalist for the position. What a waste of time! Recruiters should follow up with candidates as they expect us to follow-up with them! Simple...