I had a great impression of Linux Academy going into the interview process. Everyone from the various people that I spoke to in HR were exceptional...to the point that they could teach other recruiters some tips! The first manager that I spoke to was also very pleasant as well as the last 2 executive members of the team and seemed like team members that would be great to work with. However, this is where the good rating and overall impressions stopped.
First things first, do not take someone into final interviews and make it seem like they are the perfect fit for the job with no intention of hiring them! If you have so many "higher qualified individuals" and "the job was not a fit for your profile" as noted in the denial email, then focus on these other candidates and don't get someones hopes up that they have a chance against these others. From the sounds of it, prior to the final interview round, the company had already made their mind up on who they wanted to hire. It's rude to lead someone on and it's rude to waste their time, particularly when you draw out an interview process to be over a month long and the interviewee puts in additional time and effort in preparing presentations and documentation for the interviews. And second, feedback provided via email after the denial was a lie. Not sure if they got me confused with someone else or not, however they made some pretty large assumptions based on a few short questions and answers without further explanations due to a limited time period in which to discuss. I understand that is their job in order to get a feel for someone and their ability to perform for the position, but if you have any concerns about a candidate or need further clarification about their experience, than the interviews are the time to explore those, not make assumptions after the fact.
So although I had a great initial impression of the company and the employees, unfortunately their final few actions with the hiring process and decisions on how they handled it left it on a sour note.
