I applied for a Senior PM position and reached the case study stage, which required an investment of personal time - 2 hours. The team was aware I had annual leave scheduled and we arranged the follow up interview accordingly. Four hours before that interview was due to take place, I received an email saying the role had already been accepted by another candidate. No prior warning, no meaningful feedback beyond ‘timing hasn’t lined up’. The role itself and the initial conversations were genuinely interesting, which makes the experience all the more disappointing. Candidates deserve timely, honest communication. The way this was handled did not reflect well on the hiring process and how the company values candidates time.