Learned

My company is closing and I've been job hunting. I've had a few close calls (final rounds) but nothing firm yet. I come from the world of law firms where it's rare to have more than 2 or maximum 3 rounds for a job, but I was in the running for a job at a tech company, which I know are known for having longer processes. I didn't expect to make it far because it's a new industry for me. To my surprise, the first round (internal recruiter) and second round (immediate supervisor for the role) went great! I was excited. I was told it would likely be another round and maybe a project. Fine. Third round (head of dept) was okay. They painted a much less attractive picture of the position than the first two rounds. I asked about next steps and they said "two more rounds and maybe an assignment, not sure yet." That did not sound great but I tried to stay optimistic. Two days later I get a call from the initial recruiter... he wants to let me know the head of the dept loved me and they have decided I'm the final candidate... they still want me to have two more "conversations" but they're not interviews, just to make sure everything seems good on both sides, and if so an offer will follow. But, he says, they realized they made a mistake in the posted salary range and they'll actually only be able to pay $5k below the BOTTOM of the range. I was, of course, bummed, but the new pay was still within my personal range of comfort so I said okay. (In hindsight, this was a huge red flag). They schedule me immediately for my "non-interview meeting" with the VP. That was Friday and went fine. I heard nothing Monday and started to get a bad feeling. Today the recruiter reaches out and tells me that unfortunately they realized they listed the position at the "wrong level" and they are closing the position and not hiring anyone as they made a mistake in listing it at all. This mistake was discovered after 4 rounds and telling me I had it in the bag, pending a few "formalities." I should have seen the writing on the wall with the first "mistake" in pay range, and I was feeling kind of negative about the whole process anyway, but wtf. I mean dodged a bullet but oy vey. What a roller coaster. I've still been applying every day, but it's hard to go back to square one.