Online application even if you are contacted directly by the Hiring Manager. HR phone interview. If you have not spoken to anyone prior to the HR phone interview, my experience is that while the interviewers were encouraging, they didn't know much about the position and did not follow up, so I rarely got to the Hiring Manager. If I had already spoken to the Hiring Manager prior to the online application, it is a gruelling process of 8-12 interviews. It is important to for both parties to have a good understanding of the potential, so I'm a fan of a long process to fully understand the culture and people I would be working with. However, ultimately in every case, the company chose candidates from within the organization. Sadly, I also note that I rarely received a courtesy call to let me know that someone else was hired and that was only after I followed up repeatedly.