I applied online to an open role with AncestryDNA in Jan 2017. About two weeks went by and I received an email from a recruiter. They wanted to schedule a 30min phone screen with a hiring manager. We scheduled a phone conversation for a few days later (mid-Feb by this point). The phone call started about 10 mins late, but no big deal. Things happen. We went on to have a great conversation. The work sounded quite interesting. They let me know they would be in contact to discuss next steps. I got off the phone feeling pretty great about my chances.
Our phone call was mid-week. By mid-week the next week I had not heard anything so I emailed the recruiter. They apologized for the delay, but told me they'd not received any feedback from the phone interview. No worries. Not your fault. After 4 days went by and still no update, I reached out again. Have you heard any feedback yet? Am I still under consideration? This time no response at all. Yesterday I played email roulette and sent an email to what I hoped was the right person's email address. Basically, hey I haven't heard from anyone I've spoken to. What's going on?
Today I got a response to my email saying they "really liked my experience," but they ended up going with another candidate "who had more relevant experience." And you know what? That's absolutely fine. You like another candidate better, you should hire that person. However I've never experienced a hiring process handled so poorly. If you don't want to hire someone, fine let them know so they can scratch you off and keep it moving. Don't leave one person hanging while you wait to see if someone else signs your offer letter. It's bad form and people deserve to be treated with more respect.