You apply, are ignored, you then follow up and they promise a response, but a week and several emails later, they won't respond. The HR department also refuse to take calls

I interviewed for a maternity cover comms role and was initially rejected as my salary expectations were too high. I was then brought back into the process as there was apparently some flexibility. I went through several stages and even in-person meeting to meet the team - naturally I was quite excited and took it as a good sign even though the amount of interviews for a simple mat cover seemed excessive. A red flag should have been when the senior team member interviewed me, said it's a very informal chat but then proceeded with a full on formal interview with all the trimmings and was confused about my experience despite, apparently, looking at my LinkedIn as we spoke - she didn't look at my profile at all and probably thought she was talking to someone else all along. In any case, a deal is never done until it's done of course and I was told I'd hear by the end of the week. No such thing happened and that was more than a month ago - despite me chasing three times, zero response from the hiring manager or the recruiter. What a weird place - no, thank you.