During the hiring process, I had an initial very positive call with a company's HR representative. During this call, we discussed my work experience, skills, and current situation, such as salary and notice period. Following this conversation, I was asked to complete a business case exercise. The task was to analyze the current marketing architecture by gathering publicly available information. However, there was no specific brief or data provided for this exercise.
I had been working on the business case and was scheduled to present it in a formal meeting in person. However, the meeting was abruptly cancelled, and I wasn't given the opportunity to present my case.
Later, the day before the meeting and after I already spent time on the business case, I was informed that the position for which I had prepared the case was no longer available, as the company had already made an offer to another candidate.
While I understand that it's fair for the company to choose the best candidate, I don't believe it's fair to make people spend hours on something and not even give them the chance to present it.