After being called in for the final round, which was framed as a "trial day," I spent 3 hours deeply engaging with the project—analyzing data, testing the product, and speaking with different team members to ensure a thorough understanding of the problem. After 3 hours, I requested a check-in with the CEO to make sure I was on the right track. But before I even had the chance to explain my approach or share my insights, the CEO abruptly told me I wouldn’t be continuing in the process. His reason? Apparently, I wasn’t a good fit because I hadn’t been communicating my every move to the broader team Slack channel, which I wasn't even given a clear direction to do so. He genuinely expected that in the first 3 hours of trying to familiarize myself with an ambiguous problem, I should have been constantly messaging the entire team about every tiny step. The experience was honestly horrible and traumatic. The CEO's behavior was completely unprofessional, bordering on erratic and controlling—more concerned with micromanaging and imposing unrealistic expectations, especially on someone's first day, or to say the least, in the first few hours, than fostering an environment of real collaboration and thoughtful problem-solving.

Weeks and weeks of interviews and a task and barely any response after each round (at least a week between each email reply…). It’s a shame the mission sounded great but the interview process made me feel less than valued, like my time was at their disposal. Interviews go both ways. I found it strange and even concerning that meeting peers was not part of the interview process.