1st Round - HR call
2nd Round - Call with Hiring Manager (About previous work, technical and behavioural)
3rd Round - Hands on Assignment(take home)
4th Round - Call with senior leadership (panel)
5th Round - Small assignment write up about what you think the role is
6th Round - Review of the assignment with hiring manager
7th Round - 1 hour call with HR
It was a total of 2 months process from the first call, although I think I did very well and I could see the affirmation of that from hiring manager and leadership from my assignment discussion and the way the whole interview process went. There was a sensible discussion and I had cleared all the rounds with manager and leadership. The flip side was the HR who in the first round mentioned "we will talk about it when you clear the rounds" in a way that it was assumed I wouldn't be able to clear those. However, I did not pay so much attention to that and when I did clear all the rounds. The last one was the HR round which I expected would be a little behavioural and culture fit test for the company. To my surprise the round was scheduled for an hour for the last round with HR. I came with a positive mind set of landing this job but something seemed off in the call. The HR started with mentioning how her career was not just in HR but product and marketing and how are they involved in making the biggest decisions of the company. It was very strongly pushed across that it wasn't enough to impress the hiring manager and leadership but it was very important that the HR actually saw potential in the candidate. Sure I could do that like I did in other rounds but only if I was heard. It was pretty evident that the HR came with a mindset to not select me rather than trying to gauge my fitment in the company. I tried to give the benefit of doubt many times, but today I am sure that it wasn't intended in the best way. I couldn't know what the reason for that could be but it clearly showed bias.
It made no sense that they wasted 2 months of my time and had no absolute courtesy to deal with a job applicant. However, this talks a lot about the company culture and I am happy I wasn't picked.
Also I was clearly told that the decision would be with the VP of HR, how can a HR make 100% of the hiring decision?