I recently went through two rounds of on-site interviews with Confluent. While I was initially excited about the opportunity, my experience with the hiring process left me disappointed. The interviews themselves were organized and thorough, and I appreciated the team members I interacted with. However, the offer and negotiation stage fell well below my expectations. Despite my enthusiasm and commitment, Confluent made no movement on the proposed offer terms, which seemed inflexible and dismissive. Additionally, they withdrew the sign-on bonus initially promised during the verbal offer, which felt misleading and unprofessional. This retraction not only broke the trust established during initial discussions but also showed a lack of transparency in the hiring process. In the end, this experience left me feeling undervalued and uncertain about the company’s commitment to potential hires. I hope Confluent considers improvements in how they handle candidate negotiations to build trust and show respect for candidates' time and effort.