This company clearly lacks understanding of the implications that both good & bad seeker experiences with the recruiting process can have on their employer brand, & their ability to attract talent. First, I applied for Position A & 3 days later, I received an automated email asking me to participate in a digital interview. The interview contained a few video questions & writing prompts. At the completion of the digital interview, an automated email stating "A representative from Connections Education will contact you about next steps" was far from the truth. 2 months later, after my two failed attempts to follow-up through phone & e-mail (w/no response from the company) AND after the company reposted the position on their Careers webpage, I received an automated email stating they had selected another candidate. I have a friend that works for the company & tipped me to apply for Position B. I applied through their Careers webpage & 15 days later, a request for a digital interview was sent to my email. The interview was very similar to the first. One of the writing prompts asked about my current salary & what compensation I was asking for. I gave that info & also wrote that pay was negotiable. A few days later, I received a message from the friend stating they sent an email to their Manager recommending me for the position. Manager called me the same day. They stated they reviewed my digital interview but did not call me because my current salary was higher than the position. Uh, confusing - given that I stated the pay was negotiable. They asked if I would be interested in coming in for an interview….the very next day (Fri.). That they were urgently looking to fiIl the position & would be making a decision by the end of the day. So I went to the interview & Manager brought me into a small conference room where we were joined by Manager's boss, Supervisor. Supervisor explained details of the job position & then proceeded to ask me questions from a list. They wrote down my responses. Then Manager did the same thing - asked me questions from a list. While one was asking questions, the other was on their cell phone. They were also talking a lot about their work-related problems w/each other. After the interview, I was told they would call me at the end of the day with their decision. As I was leaving the building, Manager & Supervisor were outside smoking a cigarette together & they waved goodbye to me. Overall, I got an unprofessional vibe from them. So around 5ish pm, I received an email (NOT a phone call) from Manager, stating: “I wish to inform you that we will be extending the decision making process to this upcoming Monday. The decision has become very difficult due to your great qualifications & the competition is tough. We will be contacting you on Monday after we have come to our decision & we thank you for your patience!” So Monday comes & NOTHING, no communication, no phone call, no e-mail. The next day (Tues.), I received an e-mail from Manager stating: “After extensive consideration, & a tough decision to make, we went with another candidate who has more experience in the field we work in. We recommended you to our other Enrollment teams as your skills are very impressive & this will open up avenues of exploration within Pearson, if you are still interested.” That same day, I received a phone call from Manager B, from some other team within the dept. asking if I would be interested in Position C. I had not applied to that position through their webpage but agreed to come in for a group interview hoping that it would be a different vibe than with Manager A & Supervisor. So I came to this group interview & it was very fun. There were about 10 candidates including me in a conference room w/ several managers. They gave us some activities to do together and observed us. It was a pleasant experience. At the end of the group interview they told us we would be told their decision in a few days, giving us plenty of time to put in 2-week notice @ our current jobs. Of course, the deadline comes & goes & again, NOTHING, no communication. A couple days later, I receive an e-mail: “We received an update from our Human Resources team that the start date will now be delayed. We are not able to make final decisions regarding this position at this time & cannot yet make any job offers.” Another 7 days later, another e-mail: “Thank you again for your time and patience in the hiring process. We had hoped to receive an update from Human Resources today. Unfortunately, they have not yet provided final approval for our position, & we do not have a set start date.” I am confused why a company was hiring for a position that did not have final approval from their Human Resources? 7 more days later, I received a phone call from Manager B offering the position to me. I declined based on the entire negative candidate experience.