I heard that Spacex was getting interview candidates to submit complex projects with little time to complete and then completely ghosting people after they spent over 30 hours doing the work but I didn’t think it would happen to me. Well, it did. And I am angry about it. What a scam and the word is getting out and people are figuring it out. It’s quite the business model to get free work from candidates.

A recruiter contacted me via LinkedIn. I provided him with my resume. Another recruiter contacted me by email but kept sending me mechanical engineering positions below my level. She claimed she discussed with the first recruiter that I would be a good fit for Starshield program because of my DoD background. However, I am a senior-level electrical engineer at my current job. She kept sending me the wrong job posts and asked for my resume again. I pointed out that I already sent my resume twice. I also expressed over the phone that I am not actively seeking a position. Then she sent me another link and asked me to apply there directly, even though they kept collecting my resume via different sources multiple times. And the application was rejected. It is funny because I used the same application when another recruiter asked me two years back, which was accepted. I withdrew from the interview process during the first phone screening back then. All in all, they are unsettling, just like their leader Elon Musk. And things have not progressed since my last interview two years back. They want people with specific types of people with certain backgrounds from the aerospace industry, yet they are reluctant even to be organized and professional. Why should I leave my comfy DoD position with proper work-life balance, decent benefits, and pay to overwork for Elon Musk? This Starshield program is a government-funded project. Why is the government funding them when all these great DoD contractors are doing all these and more with the proper organization following proper engineering processes?