What would this hiring process make you think? Am I getting rejected?

Help!! I’m an internal candidate (well…was internal when I applied…I was recently given a lay off date 😞) and I’ve been in this application process for a dream position since January. Should I be ready for a rejection with this amount of time?

If they knew they wanted to hire me after the interview, why would it take this long? Does this all mean I wasn’t good enough so they wanted to interview external people too and take this long to progress the process. Mind you, I’m only get updates from the recruiter…not the hiring manager (HM).

The process:

December 2024: There was a similar position that I initially applied for internally and had the phone screen with the recruiter but then the recruiter told me they needed to cancel the posting and update it and she said I should apply to the new posting. I felt like the recruiter really felt I was an amazing fit she seemed so enthusiastic for my experience.

1/14: re-applied internally to the new job posting

1/30: phone screen with recruiter…still just as enthusiastic and encouraging. Made me feel like I really had a chance.

2/6: zoom interview with HM. The HM was more reserved, serious, and less enthusiastic than the recruiter…but granted she was sick with a cough when she interviewed with me. Pretty generic questions about my experience. Afterwards she said that I was the first person to interview and to be patient as she is interviewing other candidates.

2/7: HM asked for portfolio so I sent

2/10-2/14: HM is away this whole week at a conference so not working on hiring

2/17: I get a thank you note from HM about portfolio and they say we’ll be in touch

2/19: recruiter sends me update that the HM said they are sending my portfolio to the director of the department to also review it

2/27: I emailed the recruiter to ask about the status of the position since it was taking so long after my interview to hear about possible next steps. This is the response:

“Thanks again for your continued follow up and interest, and we really appreciate your patience. You were the very 1st person that the HM met with, so unfortunately there was a bit of a lag in getting more candidates through our process to ensure we are doing our due diligence. There are a couple of additional candidates meeting with HM this week and 1 more next week, so I feel confident that now that we have a solid pool of candidates, the HM can make decisions on who will be moving forward in next steps. I am OOO Monday and Tuesday, but I feel confident that by end of next week at the latest, I’ll be able to follow up with all candidates with an update. Certainly, if you see other opportunities within The Walt Disney Company, feel free to apply – there is no harm in that as you wait to hear back from me. Thanks so much!”

I don’t know why but after this last interaction I’ve pretty much convinced myself I have no chance to get the job. I’ve been so sad. But I don’t know why this process so far and this response made me feel like I needed to give up.

If you’ve read this far, thanks for taking time to listen to me vent and hope that others think I’m wrong. I really want this job.