The overall interview process was extensive and thorough - meeting with company leadership, the immediate creative team, HR and partner departments. It took a little over a month to speak with 8 team members across 7 interviews. (1 Phone Call, 3 Virtual, 4 In-person - 6-7hrs total in interview time not including travel) I initially applied for a Creative Director level position given my experience, but was told that position was being closed and that a lower position was available at the Art Director level. I decided to continue the interview process given the growth opportunity presented. The interviews went very well, communication was fluid, friendly and positive. After each round, I was fairly confident that it was mutually a great fit based on skillset, experience and team connection. The curveball happened a couple days after all of the last round of interviews, when they reached out to say they were not moving forward due to lack of experience in branding and website design - which was simply not accurate. The posting stated they wanted 7+ years of experience (in the AD role) - and I have 15+ years of experience directly correlating to branding, website and digital design (it's all I do) - with 4 in the industry and another 11+ in various industries. I guess they would be the only ones to really know the true reason to put a full stop on it. Interestingly enough, the day prior to letting me know that they were not continuing with me, they reposted the Creative Director role, Art Director role, and a Junior Designer role to their website. With all of the changes in what roles were actually open, it clearly shows some confusion in what they were actually looking for. Ultimately, after all of the time spent, the positive progression of the interview process - it was a major disappointment that it came to a halt with a bogus explanation. It left a very negative impression and questioned how genuine they were throughout the experience.