Two phone interviews, six or seven in-person interviews including one gauntlet session spanning 3 or 4 hours, submission of a writing/editing portfolio. Was 95% sure I'd closed the deal, with email receipts from the department manager saying things like, "we'd like to move forward with your hire." Then, a sudden reversal from the same manager, who said they could not move forward with my candidacy. In a follow-up phone call, the manager told me, in an ominous, almost threatening tone that I will never forget for as long as I live: "You need to ask yourself whether you have the right temperament for this kind of work."
I have no idea what they were talking about. So I had to meet with the New York Human Rights Commission to help sort it out...