The process started off well with a friendly HR screening call, followed by a take-home task that was straightforward. They mentioned they liked my submission, and I then had a technical interview with a backend developer, which was a solid and focused technical conversation. After that, I met with the Head of Engineering—this chat was warm and positive, with strong signals that I’d be a great fit for the team. Everything seemed to be heading toward an offer. Surprisingly, after nearly a month of back-and-forth, I received a generic rejection from HR with no explanation, which felt quite anticlimactic given how well everything had gone up to that point.