"We're doing something noble here."

A true sequence of events in my job search:

FRIDAY
I find a company doing what I want to be doing and I say to myself "I want to work for that company!"

TUESDAY
I get a job notice that this company is hiring! The job is not exactly what I want to be doing but I really want to work for this company. I send my resume and a nice letter.

THURSDAY
At a networking group and I mention it to a friend. Turns out, her boyfriend knows the VP that's hiring the position.

FRIDAY
My friend's boyfriend refers me.

TUESDAY
A woman at the company calls me and right away tells me the position pays thirty thousand less than I'm currently making - something that has been a concern for other applicants. I tell her I'd like to consider it anyway, since it's something I'm so interested in. We talk for an hour and she's wonderful.

She sets up an appointment for me to interview with the guy I'd be working for.

WEDNESDAY
She calls to say that he wants to see me sooner and moves the appointment up.

FRIDAY
The day of the interview, the VP changes the time and I'm kept waiting 15 minutes. By the time I get in the room with the guy, we only have a few minutes as he has another appt. He asks me to follow up with some details in an email.

MONDAY
I send the requested follow up email and mention that I considered this job despite the $30k pay cut because I expected to be excited by his vision but our mini-interview didn't allow for that. I also add that I've been offered another job and if he's interested, I'd like him to call.

I get a response right away. "Very impressive" it says. Then I get a call. It's him. He apologizes for giving me so little time before but explains that they're working on very important things.

We talk for an hour and he asks me a lot of high-level questions, the kind of things that no one in his price range would have an answer to. I'm not even sure most people in MY price range would have answers. He scoffs at my other offer, retorting that "we're doing something noble here."

He says they're making a decision by Thursday and after probing, says they're considering me and one other person.

I get an email asking for the names of three references.

TUESDAY
I get emails and IMs from my old bosses telling me that they've given me glowing reviews and I should be getting the offer soon.

WEDNESDAY
An email from the VP states that I got three "brilliant references" and will be getting another call to interview with some more people.

The subsequent interview is a joke, two ladies who don't feel it necessary to explain who they are, what they do at the company or why they are part of this hiring process. They start with "so tell us a little about yourself" and I'm starting to think after going through all this rigmarole there had better be an offer at the end of it.

THURSDAY
I receive NO follow-up to the last interview. I wait 24 hours and then send an email saying I really enjoyed meeting them, the company is doing some great things but I've taken the other job.

I receive a very quick reply "Okay, thanks."