almost serendipity

So I applied for a job with a major retailer in the area, well, not so much in the area but near the area. I got a call from a friend of mine after I applied, and she asked me if I applied at the company. I asked her how she knew that, because as far as I knew she had no ties to the company. It turns out that her husband (who used to work at my last job before I got there) currently works at the company I applied for, in the same department even. The hiring manager knew that he used to work at my last job and asked him if he knew me. He said he didn't directly but that his wife did. My friend (the wife) sent the hiring manager a letter of recommendation.

THEN another friend of mine just moved into a new apartment with some roommates. I was over checking it out and met one of her roommates who used to work for a company that designs a lot of the specific packaging this company uses. She gave me the inside scoop from a different angle.

At the interview, I thought it went well. Apparently it did not, since I got a letter of rejection yesterday in the mail. Oh well.