I had a phone screen with the recruiter, who was super nice. and upbeat. Great first impression of the company. She wanted me to interview for a job that was different than the one I applied for - that "the team" thought I would be an excellent fit for a more senior position. This lasted about 30 minutes. She explained that the interview process at Google takes a long time, often several months. Additionally, she asked me if I got another job offer to let her know.
About 3 weeks later I had a phone screen with someone on the team I would be working with - a peer. This woman had a miserable demeanor and seemed as if she would rather be doing anything else than be on this call. I was well prepared and based on the Q&A would say I did well. However, I was unable to get a positive feel from the interview so imagine my surprise when a month later, they wanted to schedule an in-person interview!
Even though I knew I would be going onsite to the Google campus, it took several weeks for them to schedule a date for my interview - logistics of getting the right team together, I was told. Once the date was set, they wanted to move ahead quickly. I was given information with their travel partner to book my flight and accommodations - of course which they pay for. The travel partner was very nice and super helpful. I booked my flight through them, car, and hotel that had a shuttle to campus. I was ticketed for the flight and received a confirmation through email.
That very same day, I received an "urgent" call from the recruiter. They were cancelling my interview. The reason I got was that the team discussed it and wanted to expand the scope of the role and wanted someone "more senior". This was ironic since the role I originally applied for was "less senior" and they thought I was qualified for something "more senior". At this point, communication broke down between the travel partner and Google as they were still sending me trip details after the interview was cancelled. On one hand I am glad they did not have me come in for a day of grueling interviews knowing they were not going to hire me. On the other hand, I cannot believe this happened. When I asked if I could interview for the original position I applied for, they told me it was filled. I was very disappointed that they dragged this out for months, only to cancel the interview hours after I booked my flight. I am so glad I did not tell people that I was interviewing in Mountain View because I would have been humiliated. As it is, I was depressed about this for weeks. I would never want to work for them after this.