This position was very appealing and strongly aligned with my background, however, I had my initial screening with Westat's assistant VP of talent management & development. This person began the call 11 minutes late from their personal cell phone line, spoke at length about their children, ended the call without soliciting questions, and then did not follow up. I sent multiple emails in the following weeks asking for a courtesy update without receiving any acknowledgement. When I asserted that I would contact via the personal telephone line if email was not preferred, I got a prompt response, which was a rejection. I followed up with the hiring manager about this, who validated my concerns and CCd the interviewer, I politely replied to the hiring manager with gratitude. This was on Feb. 3, 2026. When I replied to the hiring manager, with the interviewer CCd, I got an auto-reply that said "Happy Thanksgiving". If you're a serious job seeker and desire working at this company, try to find a way to contact the hiring manager directly.