I interviewed for the Lisbon office. The interview process started off smoothly and clearly. I had one initial online interview with a recruiter three weeks after applying in January, followed by three more online rounds. Overall, the process lasted about three months. Screening interview (February): A short screening Teams call with the recruiter, basic questions to assess my fit and interest. 1st round (March): A structured interview with a team member. We covered scenario-based questions about past experiences using the STAR method. It was professional and went well. 2nd round (first days of April): A case study discussion with another team member. This was engaging and gave me the chance to showcase how I approach problems. I passed this stage and was told I’d move forward. 4th round (Mid April): Final interview with the VP and hiring manager. Prior to this, I was asked to complete an unpaid assignment, which took me two weeks of work to deliver a quality project. The interview itself went well, the hiring manager even expressed positive feedback on my work and asked about my availability and other interviews. However, after the final interview, I never heard back. I was told to expect an update in about three weeks. After waiting and hearing nothing, I followed up three weeks later or so and immediately received a very brief rejection email stating that the team decided not to move forward due to a lack of experience for the position. It felt like the recruiter had completely forgotten to keep me informed throughout the process, or perhaps the team decided to move forward with another candidate without notifying the recruiter, at least not until I reached out. I waited more than three weeks before following up out of respect for the timeframe the hiring manager had mentioned during the final interview. Overall, what started as a promising and well-organized process ended with a disappointing lack of communication and closure. I invested over 3 months of time and effort into this process, including a demanding unpaid assignment, and the final ghosting was disheartening. A more respectful and transparent conclusion to the process would have made a big difference.