After the first round, roughly a month later, they asked me to prepare a project. Anyone who has designed content knows how challenging and time-consuming this can be. I worked over the weekend to prepare and submit it on time. I received no response. I asked the recruiter if they didn't find the project satisfactory and requested feedback. The recruiter said they liked the project and that there would be one more round with the chairman of the company. I waited for a couple of months and still received no response. When I followed up with the recruiter, he said the position had been put on hold. This was thoroughly unprofessional, and I'm glad I had this experience before joining them. Having invested so much time and energy into preparing a project for them without compensation, I deserved at least a response.
I sensed a red flag while the whole process that they treated me as a backup candidate- in case the first preference didn't join they would have come back to me.