I applied online. The 1st interview was with the current Head of People and Culture (1 hour). She asked some questions about my background and experience. They got back to me within 1 or 2 days, inviting me to the 2nd round, this time with the hiring manager for the role. The questions covered my experience in more detail. However, several of these were asked repeatedly, which gave me an impression that the interview notes were not passed on or not read. Shortly after, I was invited to a trial day onsite. However, due to the CEO being on vacation during that time, I was asked to have a chat with him on the same day, I accommodated the request adjusting my schedule, since I was genuinely interested in the company. The interview was very pleasant, it felt like a genuine conversation. So far - so good. 2 days before the trial day, I got the news that the hiring manager could not be present in the office on that day due to personal reasons. However, he really wanted to meet me, so a 2-hour in-person meeting was scheduled after my trial day and the upcoming vacation. Fast forward to the trial day, I was taken to a room where my interviews would take place. Was not shown around the office as such and made to meet the colleagues present there, which from the description seemed like one of the main purposes of this endeavour. Instead I had 3 hours of panel interviews and then lunch with the team. Each person I've interacted with asked why I wanted to switch jobs, even though I had answered that question 3 times before. One of the interviewers said that the invite came in quite unexpectedly and on short notice for her, and that she did not really have the time to properly look at my CV. This did not contribute any comfort in the process to say the least. The team was informed that I would be on vacation, we also briefly discussed this during lunch. Therefore, at the end of the trial day, having invested 10+ hours of my time in the process at that point, I asked to give me a general update until EoD the following day, which was Friday. The response was that should I not hear back from them until then, it means we are moving forward. Since I did not, in fact, hear back from them, I spent some time on the weekend preparing for the hopefully last interview stage. While on vacation, an unknown number called me. 5 minutes after, I received a general rejection email, stating: "I would have liked to inform you in person, but could not reach you, so we are letting you know that we won't be continuing with the process." Not even an offer to set aside 10 min for a feedback call. This came across as unprofessional and cold-hearted. Even though companies do not "owe" candidates anything per se, there is a level of decent human behaviour that would be expected, especially of a company that lists empathy as one of their core values. After 10+ hours of total time invested, I guess I can say that I dodged a bullet. Summary Positives: - Quick response times and friendliness throughout the process. - The CEO being transparent and realistic about current challenges, which was a positive surprise, as opposed to the usual "corporate lingo" during interviews. Areas for improvement: - If more than 3 one-hour interviews are required to hire a candidate below director/VP level, the process is to blame, not the candidates, - Do not schedule further interview steps if you are unsure the candidate would be moving forward. This causes unnecessary frustration. - Trial days are "pressure testing" candidates. An imbalance is created, where the candidate knows they are being evaluated all the time, which can make it difficult for people to be themselves / show their real personality. You might be missing on some very good candidates who do not function at their best in such set-ups.