The role seemed interesting at first, and the initial screening with the recruiter went well. The hiring process was completely disorganized, unbalanced, and draining. The company shows zero respect for candidates' time.
Things started off painfully slow: my first interview was on January 26th. Then, I was asked to complete an extensive take-home assignment (submitted on February 6th). Feedback was delayed significantly past their promised deadline. Meanwhile, the recruiter handling my case went on leave and was replaced, causing a chaotic handover and poor communication.
After dragging the process out for a month and a half, they suddenly rushed me to schedule a final interview on extremely short notice. Yet, only 2.5 days after that final round, I received a rejection template. It’s obvious they already had another candidate at the offer stage and were simply keeping me in the pipeline as a backup, wasting my time and effort on a vacancy that was essentially already closed.Learn to respect people's time. If you don't know what you want or already have a finalist you are making an offer to, have the courage to be transparent. Stop forcing other candidates to spend hours on extensive test assignments and rush them into last-minute interviews just to hedge your own risks. Also, ensure a proper handover process when recruiters change so candidates don't suffer from your internal disorganization.