I applied for a position on the website though a Gensler employee from another office referred me and gave me a direct contact to follow up with. The first round interview was in the office. However, the hiring manager was away and conducted the interview remotely which was strange. They essentially walked through my resume and asked a few questions about specific items then cut things off quickly letting me know they would be able to tell me about the next round within a week. The manager asked me to email if I didn't hear within a week and that they'd be interested in reviewing my portfolio in the meantime. I followed up as discussed and was told to follow up again the next week. The person who refereed me let me know the manager thought the interview went well which he thought was a good sign. A followed up again and it took the hiring manager a week to reply. They said they hadn't come to any decisions and to follow up again in two weeks. I followed up again. The hiring manager replied back a week later and told me they decided not to hire anyone. The whole experience was odd as I was told the team was short staffed and that they wanted to move the process along quickly. It seems strange they'd go from saying that to not hiring anyone. My instinct is that they only interviewed me as a favor to the person who referred me which is disappointing.