First step was a brief phone screening with the hiring manager and a panel member. Second step was an in-person panel interview. I was asked to prepare a 15-minute presentation ahead of time (on principle, I'm against producing content for potential employers, so this was a red flag). I was asked to arrive 15 minutes before the interview so I could receive a copy of the questions, which I appreciated. The interview began with the presentation, which is a little jarring, but I was glad to get it out of the way. Next, the panel asked their questions, and the interview concluded with an hour-long written portion (which had not been disclosed until the interview itself). Once again, I don't love the idea of generating ideas for organizations without compensation, so this felt a bit exploitative (especially since the scenario in the written portion is an endeavor the department is actually considering and not some far-fetched hypothetical). The copy of the interview questions that I'd received earlier was submitted with my written response; had I known I'd be turning that page in, I wouldn't have taken notes on it during my interview.
That second interview took way longer than anticipated; omitting that there would be an additional hour of writing felt inconsiderate since I don't live in the area (it took over 9 hours of combined time on the road to get to/from the interview, and yes, the panel knew this). Nearly a month passed, and I heard nothing, so I assumed I didn't get the position. However, I reached out to the person responsible for coordinating the interviews just to be sure, and they told me to check the candidate portal. Here, I discovered I was "no longer under consideration". No email, no phone call, not even an automated notification from the candidate portal; if I hadn't contacted anyone, who knows if I would have ever received any communication about the decision.
The entire thing left an extremely bad taste in my mouth, and I'm disappointed in the lack of professionalism. I think once candidates have invested that much time and energy, the least you can do is send them an email notifying them that they didn't get the role. I've spoken to people within my network to warn them about how poor the experience was and cautioned them about applying to roles with VB.