I was contacted by the HR/talent manager initially and had two phone screens and two in person interviews in Encino. The first interview I was asked intelligent questions and was able to have a two-way dialogue that helped me gauge my interest, highlight my qualifications and personal work style. The second interview was a panel and included someone who would be reporting to the position I was interviewing for. It was the worst interview I have been on. This person was looking to discredit me and was very aggressive. There was confusion as to what the job entailed--i.e. I have some coding skills and know what the various languages are and do, however, I am not a developer nor should a Director of Digital Marketing be a developer--those are two different jobs entirely. I was also asked to recite the latest Google algorithm update that happened two days before I interviewed. I am very digitally savvy, however, I had not been in the SEO world for a few months so I could not recite the exact nature of the update. The gotcha questions tainted the interview--I almost stood up and walked out. Unfortunately, I was forced to defend myself most of the 45 minutes I was there and the other two professionals that were on the panel did not get the "best" me.
I later put two and two together and it was later confirmed that the aggressive person in the interview wanted that job. I'm was absolutely sabotaged. My final thoughts, just because I have my own consulting business for the past three years, does not mean I'm unemployed or not employable, it's the exact opposite. It takes experience and guts to land your own clients and projects, especially in this climate.
Unless your favorite part of history was the Spanish Inquisition and you want to reenact it, I don't recommend working in that dept.