I was put in contact with the company via a recruiter and first had a phone interview with the hiring manager where I was asked about my experience and told more about the role and the company. The phone call was very pleasant, and I left with a very positive feeling about the company.
Afterwards, I was brought in for a one hour on-site interview, where I met two people and learned more about the company and the unique problems they’re aiming to solve. It was a very pleasant interview overall. I was told they’d be in touch and I would be sent information about a design challenge. Personally, I feel that asking a prospective employee to do any work without being compensated is kind of immoral, but I understand the anxiety companies have in finding the right fit. Still, I went along with the project, with the caveat that I wouldn’t allow myself to spend too much time on it (and also assuming that they didn’t expect this of me either).
After two interviews and completing a test project, I never heard back. I finally heard back from the recruiter who put me in touch in the first place that they decided to go in another direction, which is more than ok, but I was very surprised that after devoting so much time to the interview process that I didn’t even receive an email back. It was ultimately quite a disappointing experience for that reason alone.