Was brought in by a recruiter to check these guys out, no tech gotcha questions, no stupid leetcode algorithm bingo, just handed me a laptop with WiFi, and asked me to do part of a take-home without supervision. Finally a chance to show that I can actually code without the pressure of another SWE breathing down your back. This went fine, continued to talk to two other devs.
Had a pretty decent conversation with the CTO and talked about the future of the role and what I might be doing in the position. Good conversation, nothing technical, and no water jug style questions.
Overall I felt positive on my experience, and felt like we had something going well.
I get an email that I had done well, and that I was going to be put through to HR to talk more about the role. Great! This was in the bag!
Except not. Instead of getting a call about my availability to start, salary requirements, or other such details that HR normally takes care of, I get interrogated about my technical skills, work history, and so on. I manage to get through these and ask a few HR related questions, one of which gets literally scoffed at by the HR rep. Throughout the call, I feel as if the rep has a bone to pick with me, and I end the call slightly demoralized, but still happy with my performance with the technical team.
After a little less than a week, I get notice that I had not been selected. No further feedback.
Tech team, if you're reading this, keep up the good interviewing! You guys were great, and it was nice meeting you. It's too bad I can't extend that same good feeling to your HR department.