I was applying from a different city, so there was an initial phone call from the VP regarding the position, everything went well, and he wanted me to speak with a few other members of the sales department. Before the in-person interview could even take place, I had already spoken to at least 4-7 employees, and I was getting great feedback, so I assumed things were going well.
There was a large waiting period between each moment of communication, and I am not positive they would have reached back out if I hadn't followed up every time (huge red flag). I eventually went to SF to interview in person after receiving such positive feedback over the phone (1-2 month process).
The in-person interview went well, and as I was leaving, the VP mentioned to give him a call on my way home so we can discuss how everything went. Weeks passed because I could never get a hold of him and it took weeks to return my call. I was nothing but understanding because I know startups are always busy and having to constantly change their schedule. At this point, I knew I was not half as interested in the position due to the lack of communication. I received feedback that they believed there was some lack of motivation, but it was tough staying motivated when I couldn't receive a response in a reasonable amount of time.
1 month after the in-person interview (now going on a 3-month application process), they decided they're going to hold off on hiring someone because they were hiring 2 roles at the same time. It has now been months since I applied for this position and to this day I never even received an offer or a decline on how they were choosing to move forward with the position. The director kept saying follow up with us in "X" amount of days each time we spoke, I did, and no word. It probably wasn't meant to be, but communication and organization are extremely important in any company, and I would suggest taking this into consideration regarding future candidates. I hope this review triggers improvement regarding future applicants. I was simply waiting for a deny letter, so I could move on and not need to follow up each time.