The initial conversation with the HR representative was actually very pleasant. She took the time to explain the company structure and processes in detail and walked me through a solid presentation. It gave me a good first impression. After that, the process quickly became overwhelming, confusing, and frankly, disappointing. First, I was asked to complete a take-home assignment split into two parts: a logical assessment on a specialized platform and an automation test task. The logical assessment lasted 60–75 minutes and felt like psychological warfare. I was given 40 overly simple math questions (percentages, shapes, etc.) to be solved in under 20 minutes — no calculator allowed — followed by over 100 personality-related questions. You couldn’t skip anything. It was exhausting, and I honestly have no idea what purpose it served. Nobody mentioned the results ever again, nor explained how or whether they impacted the hiring decision. If your goal is to make candidates feel small and confused — mission accomplished. I can only hope your current employees are also required to go through this quarterly. Fair is fair. Then I spent another couple of evenings completing the second part — writing automation tests. I got positive feedback on this part, which led to a 1.5-hour technical interview with the Head of QA and a Senior ML Engineer. It included standard, mostly abstract questions, plus a review of my test code. I thought it went reasonably well. And then... silence. A full week passed after the interview with no word. I sent a follow-up email and got a vague response: “We are still interviewing other candidates. We’ll get back to you in a week.” Eventually — 2.5 weeks after the interview — I received a rejection email. It included the classic line: “We really enjoyed speaking with you, but identified a gap in your technical knowledge.” No explanation of what this mysterious "gap" was, no actual feedback. Two things left me completely shocked: The "efficiency" of this process. Keeping candidates in limbo for weeks just because you’re talking to others? I get that competition is tough these days, but I’ve seen companies manage smoother, more humane processes — with quicker decisions and actual communication. The ridiculous logical assessment. It felt unnecessary, excessive, and degrading. It didn’t add value — it only drained mine. If you expect candidates to invest their time, energy, and brainpower into your process, at least respect them enough to offer transparency and basic courtesy in return.