I apply online for a Senior Software Engineer role, I get contacted back for an initial chat and I find out they applied me for a higher role instead (lead engineer). I point out I may not have the experience and that I applied for the Senior but they insist and say they can see where to place me. Fair enough, I get moved to the following stage which was a very nice chat. I relate a lot with the company mission and I really like their tech stack and ways of working. I'm discarded as "I don't have enough relevant experience", for a role a didn't apply for (really? I'm shocked, I was put through the interview process for a role I said I don't have enough experience and then I'm rejected because I don't have experience for it). Just a week after my rejection they publish a Senior Software Engineer role, I apply and also get in contact again with them, ghosted.

Generally good though very long. It was a 5 stage interview. 1. A 30 minute screener interview with the internal recruiter 2. A 90 minute coding test on Codility. The problems are simple to medium level but your score will probably depend on how well you can apply algorithms knowledge to make the solution performant. 3. Reviewing some React code as if doing a peer review for a junior colleague. The interviewer was very friendly, we got on well and it was a pleasant experience that gave me lots of opportunities to show my expertise 4. A backend interview going through system architecture and asking questions about my approach to building out a backend system for a specific purpose. Again, plenty of opportunities to show knowledge. The engineer interviewing seemed less experienced at interviewing, but still a good chat 5. A behavioural interview using the STAR format to answer questions like "What's your biggest challenge in your current role?" or "Tell me a time when you dealt with a conflict?". I dislike this kind of interview because it seems so artificial and hinges on having specific answers ready, but it also went fairly well and the interviewer was good. In total that process took 5 hours. I received positive feedback from the video interviews and was asked for my availability to meet the CEO which I gave. After that I heard absolutely nothing. The process had been positive up until that point with responsive communication. After investing so much in the process it was disappointing to have no contact. I suspect the reason was due to my salary expectations, but a brief rejection email would have been fine. I'd worry about the functioning of the company internally if they can't give simple feedback to someone who has invested a significant amount of time in them.