I was aware of a vacancy through a professional connection. My interview was first with the hiring manager, who knew a former boss of mine through a professional network. Communication between me and my former boss had lapsed, and we were not on exceptionally good terms. I requested subtly that the hiring manager let me know if my boss needed to be contacted as a reference - because I wanted to make contact with him first.
The interview went smoothly enough, and the result was immediately positive - there was talk of meeting other decision-makers in the organisation, including a senior European business manager. A telephone interview with a US-based professional was arranged, which also seemed to go well. I was then invited a week or two later to meet someone from HR - though this was also OK as an experience, I had the uneasy feeling that the interviewer was proceeding on the basis that I might be 'odd' or have a relational problem of some kind and was checking me out..
Later, through the person that initially put me in touch with the Lenovo hiring manager, I understood that my former boss had been contacted despite my request - and unfortunately he had done his best, apparently, to sabotage my chances. Successfully. (I should add that we had worked together for many years previously, and he had had no complaint about my professional competence during that time - but perhaps he hadn't yet forgiven me for resigning from my post?)
There was absolutely no further contact from Lenovo - no follow up after the interview with HR, and no reply to the email I sent to the hiring manager, thanking and enquiring about next steps. No email to say I'd been unsuccessful; no call...Needless to say, I never did get to meet the senior European business manager..
A recruitment process like this is simply shabby - not to say outrageously discourteous - and reflects badly on Lenovo as an employer. Whether the decision is to hire or not, after a few interviews, don't you owe a candidate an answer or feedback of some kind?.... It's particularly galling in my case because I never had the chance to answer any of the plaints made about me by my former boss - because I didn't officially know about them first-hand - and still don't know they consisted of exactly!