In 2015, I was an internal referral from a top Tableau executive. I also came from a major competitor with unique technology and consulting experience. I was well-qualified for the role, but I tried to establish confidence without being presumptuous or arrogant during the interview process.

I was excited about the elegant product and the company culture, but I'd been disappointed twice in the past by Tableau's hiring etiquette:

• In 2006, HR didn't return several phone calls.
• In 2012, a different employee referred me, and I went through a couple of interviews that led to a dead end of silence from HR.

(In 2012, the interview cycle appeared to be going well, but Tableau HR went silent mid-way through my interview round and didn't respond to my emails until I complained to my internal referral contact. By that point, I was deflated by several unprofessional snafus that had occurred during the interview cycle, such as the recruiter not sending the hiring manager a dashboard I'd spent a few hours building at HR's request. I declined to pursue further interviews, as I felt the people involved were operating insincerely.)

Fast forward to 2015, and I decided to try again with the referral of a different employee, this time a top executive. I spoke to HR again, and a week later, they put me in touch with a different hiring manager than I'd interviewed with in 2012. I had a one-hour interview with her that seemed to go well.

Just like in 2012, I was again promised a battery of 4-5 interviews, including a product demo interview. Two weeks went by, and I heard nothing from her, so I emailed HR. They promised to follow up with the hiring manager. Another week went by with no further reply from HR. I emailed HR a second time but did not receive a reply.

It was precisely the same etiquette shown to me before: interview; then an empty promise of more interviews; then HR disregarding further contact.

It is hard to guess why they spend their time and yours to host interviews (or have you spend time building dashboards) that seem to go well, but then they don't follow up on their promises or at least tell a candidate, "Thanks, but no thanks."

I would respect HR telling me they decided against me as a candidate. However, promising further interviews and then not replying to email or phone calls creates a negative impression of the company. I'd heard from two former colleagues that they both experienced similarly insincere interview processes. Candidates deserve to be treated more respectfully than this.

Why do you want to work for Tableau?