I applied for a Customer Support Engineer role on the YouTrack team. The process was long and, honestly, frustrating for someone with my level of experience. The technical interview lasted 1.5 hours and mostly covered beginner-level questions, which felt odd given my almost 20 years in IT and 12+ years in technical support. Then came a 4-hour technical test focused on YouTrack product. I used the resources a real support engineer would: docs, a cloud instance, and AI tools, making sure I fully understood everything before submitting. During the test, I was questioned about using AI tools in a way that felt suspicious rather than focusing on whether my answers were correct. The whole experience felt like my experience and skills weren’t fully acknowledged. Ultimately, I was rejected. While I understand that sometimes a candidate isn’t the right fit, the process itself felt excessively long, exhausting, and not tailored to senior professionals. Advice for other candidates: If you are a senior-level professional, be aware that this process may not reflect your expertise. Also consider whether the team’s cultural fit aligns with your expectations.