I recently completed a first-round interview with Askonas Holt for the Artist-Manager position in Berlin. The conversation went very well: it was conducted in both English and German, the atmosphere was positive, and I left with the impression that my profile matched their expectations. Given my extensive experience in leading artistic institutions and artist-management companies, I was confident I would advance to the second round. I was told to expect news within a week. However, two weeks have now passed without any update — not even a rejection email. After the first week, I sent a polite reminder to the HR contact who initially reached out to me, but my message was ignored. I find this lack of communication highly disrespectful. Preparing an application and an interview requires significant time and energy, and it is discouraging when a candidate’s efforts are not acknowledged. A simple message, even a standard rejection, would have shown basic professional courtesy. I was also struck by the salary proposed for the role, which I found to be far below what one would reasonably expect to live on in Berlin. It seemed at odds with the company’s public image of supporting its employees and upholding workers’ rights. Altogether, I was left disappointed by my experience with such a well-known artist-management company. Unfortunately, I have never felt so disregarded as a professional candidate.