The first stage consists of a panel interview with four upper level managers. It takes place in the office and is very conversational and a bit more laid back than at many companies. I enjoyed the experience and heard back from the HR manager (who was leading me through the process and who also attended the panel interview) later that afternoon. He requested a second interview, but this time over lunch at an upscale restaurant in Raleigh. I have participated in lunch interviews before, but this particular situation was as awkward as I can remember. There were six people at the table: the HR manager, myself, an employee who currently does the job I would be transitioning into, and the same three other managers from the previous day. What made things so awkward was that not once during the 1.5 hour sitting did any of them ask me a single job-related interview question. Now, I asked numerous questions of the current employee, and we had a very informative and productive discussion, but otherwise it was all the managers joking amongst themselves, reminiscing about times past, and discussing approaches to problems awaiting them back at the office. In short, I felt very out of place and as though the aggregate situation was borderline inappropriate. During the week leading up to my initial interview and subsequent lunch "interview," communication between HR and myself was nearly constant, and I was never left in the dark about anything. Upon leaving the lunch interview my NextLot HR liaison clarified that I would be hearing from him very soon with next steps. I sent thank you emails and waited five business days to send a follow-up email about the hiring process, but received no response. One week later, I send another very respectful email to my HR contact politely asking if he could update me on where I stand in the hiring process, or if I dd at all. Again, nothing. At this point I've received several employment offers and am no longer interested in working for NextLot, as the past few weeks have seemingly revealed some amount of disorientation within their ranks, and within their communication channels. I think NextLot would have been an ideal fit for me, in terms of expertise and experience, but I also want to know that my employer is accessible and has my back in a position that is going to require me to spend 90 percent of my time traveling both domestically and internationally.