I was contacted by a recruiter on LinkedIn for an initial interview on Thursday, 9/26/2024. The video call was scheduled for the next day. The recruiter joined the call on-time, was friendly and easy to talk to. She briefly introduced me to the company and answered all of my questions. The interview was casual and I was asked about my experience as a DevOps engineer. The interview ended on a good note but the communication channel went silent afterwards. I did not know when to hear from them or what to expect next, nor was I responded to when I emailed the recruiter. It wasn't until I went back to LinkedIn to message the recruiter, that I got a response that "the hiring manager was busy but should review your candidacy by Friday." That Friday had come and gone, and there were no words from them. I mean, if I am not a good fit, let me know soon, and I'll understand - just don't leave me hanging in mid-air... The recruiter was friendly and pressure-free, which was a nice plus, but the lack of communication clarity made this a neutral experience at best. EDIT: One week later I was contacted for a technical screening. The interviewer was respectful of my time and we were able to discuss some real challenges that the team was trying to solve. I understood that people got busy, and I might have left my previous comment a bit rushed. The lack of communication / setting the right expectations after my initial screening was real, so I decided not to change any of that, but I wanted to point out that this process was veering towards the positive side.