A 45-minute technical phone interview, followed by 5 onsite interviews with 15 people – an average of 4 per interview.

The interviewers were friendly, but the hiring manager was incompetent. The recruiter didn't have any clue what was happening.

I had great respect for Adobe, but with this stupid process, I hate it.

After my interviews, the same evening, the hiring manager sent an email asking for references. According to my experience, that looked positive; I thought they would extend an offer.

The recruiter said, "Yes, it is a very positive sign." Then, the next day, the hiring manager called all the references with basic questions. The next morning, I received an email from the recruiter stating they could not extend an offer as they had selected another candidate.

I really did well in the interview. This just shows very unprofessional behavior:

1. Why did the hiring manager reach out to me for references? He could have conveyed to me that I was a potential candidate, then I would have made the choice to give references.
2. Why didn't the recruiter take control of the situation? He should have been clearer.

I would hope Adobe takes this feedback seriously and provides suitable training for management on how to handle such situations.

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