I met a Store Manager at a retail networking event. She reached out and asked if I'd like to have a conversation about an open position. In the chat, I learned a lot about the company. It was a pretty casual conversation without standard behavioral questions. I then proceeded to interview with the district manager. A little more formal this time, but still quite personable and non-intimidating, After that, I was invited to the store to meet some current employees and check things out. The SM seemed ready to hire me. All of the above happened within a week. After that in store interview, the SM said she and the DM had to finish up a few other interviews.
About a week later, the SM called to say they'd gone with another candidate. That candidate had more visual merchandising experience , which was fair.