referral from former employee; first received phone call from current intern, then came to the office for 1:1 interview, then after given offer with no room to negotiate i accepted and began work within the month. all protocol was simply that as no other candidates were seriously considered. good for me at the time since i was unemployed for 6 months, bad for me in that i had no idea the psychotic nature of management, nor the lack of opportunities i would have. o well, i moved on :)