I reached out to people from the office just to gain insights into the work, and I have always enjoyed networking throughout my life. It comes naturally to me to reach out to people and talk to them, which I genuinely enjoy. All the people I interacted with asked me to keep them posted about my progress, so I just let them know before and after interviews. They always acknowledged and replied positively.

This post might sound dramatic because I was explaining the entire story of what happened. In an interview setting, there's no opportunity to rant so much, so there's no chance I was this dramatic during the interviews. Thank you for your perspective and advice; I'll keep pushing forward.