I applied for a ghost position. This is extremely common now-a-days and will get more common as the recession continues. Unethical companies like GP follow this practice and they have no shame. It's a lot cheaper to post a high-level position and collect information from candidates than it is to pay consultants. The Sr. Director I spoke with was highly unqualified. He was basically asking me how to do his job, it was unbelievably shocking to see such incompetence.

First was interview HR to gauge your interest, history, why you're looking, and more information about the position. Conversation was supposed to be 30 minutes, ended up being about 45, which seemed like a good sign. That conversation went well, which then referred me to the hiring manager a few days later. This conversation was about an hour, similar in structure but a little deeper about the position. The hiring manager asked plenty of questions and gave me ample opportunity to ask questions in return. The recruiter and the hiring manager said they would follow up by the end of the week for potential next steps. That was a few weeks ago. I get it, we're all busy and to them I wasn't the right candidate. More than anything I'm annoyed that if they say they're going to follow up with me either way and don't, it's disappointing and negatively impacts my perception of the business.