I was first approached on the phone by a hiring manager. I was next interviewed on the phone by his co-director for the team. Then I was invited to one of their headquarters sites. Prior to the onsite interview I was contacted by someone in HR who had me fill out a form to check my driving record and probe salary questions. I was told at the time that my background was "spot on". I was informed that I had to give a presentation on Wednesday, five days before the interview, although I was invited to headquarters three weeks before the interview. I was asked to fly on Sunday for a Monday morning interview. All of the candidates for the job were waiting together in a small lobby, which I found uncomfortable. We were shuttled from room to room to meet with a peer, have a telephone interview with the supervisor of the hiring manager and another room where a fifteen minutes presentation was given to the hiring manager and his team co-lead. My perception of a youthful culture was solidified when a young and very attractive female interviewer commented to me that one of the other candidates was "old". She used this term as an identifier when I mentioned one of the candidates was a neighbor of mine. She referred to her as "the old one". More than a month had passed before I received word that they had chosen another candidate. It took more than two months to recover my travel expenses.