The process began about as normal as most interviews for a role such as this go. I was initially contacted and interviewed by a recruiter after applying, and was set up for my first interview with the facility director on site; one to follow with HR and the management team, another (at 10pm at night no less), with the night supervision, another interview and "tour" with the Day Ops. Mgr., etc...
In total... seven phone and on-site interviews with over 11 different people over a period of 6 weeks!
Obviously I began to question the necessity of this many interviews in order for a decision to be made, then it occurred to me what might be happening- particularly since all of my interviews were "local..." I was being benchmarked. I was not totally convinced of this; however, as I had asked in my first interview if there were any "internal candidates," and was told that there were none.
I was scheduled for one final interview that was cancelled at the last minute, and then that's when they pulled the carpet... I was told that an "internal candidate appeared late in the picture."
In the end, I blamed myself for letting my guard down, becuase through the whole process, (which I thought was going to be a sure win for me in the end), I did not invest time in other job prospects that were contacting me.
So beware! Look for the signs... more than 3 interviews; all interviews local; too many different positions interviewing you? It's a likelihood that it's not you they are interested in, rather how their internal candidate measures up to the external market.