I applied online, and then got contacted by a recruiter. From there, got set up for a phone screen with the hiring manager. After passing that, I did a video interview with a few engineers on the team asking various technical questions, as well as coding problem. One of the Engineers emailed me shortly thereafter asking me to complete a homework assignment and email/post it on GitHub which I completed over a weekend. After that - I did a 2nd round of interviews on-site at the NBC offices at 30 Rock in NYC. This was less technical and more personality based interviews from management.
After the interviews - things seemed to go well. The hiring manager made it clear the team liked me, but was just not sure on my experience level would meet the expectations they were looking for. I ended up getting an email from the recruiter asking for 5 references which I gladly obliged to thinking I'd get an offer (as well as the response from the hiring manager from my thank-you email I sent out after my interviews). The next day I get a call from the recruiter saying they convened and decided I didn't have enough experience and went with another candidate. The one thing that pissed me off is why even give me the references if you weren't sure you were going to go with me? Also - companies should invest in less experienced employees who fit in culturally and TRAIN them, that’s the best way to get a good and healthy culture on your team instead of hiring the person who is most qualified based on experience. But - it was a good experience in learning how companies play candidates a bit dirty at times. Oh well - on to the next one.