I was introduced to the company by one of my former colleagues. The recruitment process was extremely lengthy, disorganized, and lacked any clear structure. Initially, I was interviewed by a recruiter — I had no idea who they were or what role they held at the time, which I only discovered later. Following that, an interview was scheduled with the department manager; however, they did not attend the meeting. Instead, after about ten minutes, someone else joined the call — the individual I was apparently supposed to replace, as they were leaving the company. This person spoke openly about the difficult working conditions and challenges within the team. He provided feedback during the meeting itself, stating that I had strong knowledge both in technical areas and in management, and that I brought significant professional experience. They then mentioned that a further interview would be necessary — this time with the company’s client — as it would ultimately be the client who decided whether or not to proceed with me. I found this highly unusual. In all my years of professional experience, I had never encountered a situation where a company would hire a manager based on whether or not the client personally liked them. The day of the client interview arrived. As both employees and previous interviewers had warned me, the client — a woman — turned out to be extremely unprofessional: unqualified, arrogant, and discourteous. Throughout the interview, she went out of her way to belittle me while continuously praising herself. The second person in the meeting appeared clearly unsettled and made efforts to defuse the tension. I, on the other hand, was in a state of disbelief. I couldn’t comprehend whether this was truly meant to be a professional interview. Following the interview, I received no communication or feedback from the company — I was completely ghosted. After persistent follow-ups, I finally managed to obtain some feedback through my former colleague. They informed me that this client had the final say in everything, including decisions that affected internal company affairs. Reportedly, she described my performance as "terrible," though I strongly believe her remarks were rooted in personal jealousy rather than objective evaluation my colleague said. I eventually wrote and submitted my own feedback to the HR department and thanked them for the opportunity.