I had phone interviews with a recruiter and the the hiring manager. The hiring manager was very articulate about the goals of his department. The questions were challenging, and I can tell he wanted to see how I think. The interview went long. I was told it would last a half hour, and questions were still being posed to me after 45 minutes. I had to cut the interview short, because I needed to get back to work. At that point, I didn't have high hopes. To my surprise, the recruiter contacted me the next day and said the manager had a great conversation with me and would like to schedule an onsite interview. I gave her my availability, which was tight given the upcoming Christmas holidays. After no word for a couple of days, the recruiter said they completed final rounds with two other candidates and are going with one of them! I don't understand what happened. Was there a miscommunication, or were my available times not good for them and they didn't want to wait? Either way, I think it's bad form to invite a candidate for an onsite interview then hire somebody else before meeting the candidate.