Stages:

• Chat with recruiter over Google Hangout
• Zoom interview with Manager and Product Owner to understand your current role and how you like to work
• Take-home assignment: design a payment gateway API in a week
• Supposedly a final interview to go over your API implementation.

The recruiter (A) reached out to me on LinkedIn. Initially, recruiter A gave me a very positive impression of the company, as they were very enthusiastic about the role and very responsive throughout the process.

The take-home assignment was fun to do but would take up a lot of your free time.

After completing the take-home assignment, I was asked to contact recruiter B for further updates, as A was away. Recruiter B went radio silent on me for two weeks. I found out later that she was already negotiating salary with another applicant during the time they ghosted me, which happened to be a colleague of mine whom they also tried to poach.

Weeks later, when recruiter A finally got back to me, I was notified that even though there was good feedback on my work, they could no longer sponsor a work visa (despite confirming with them beforehand that visa sponsorship was indeed available?!). Hours spent on the assignment were down the drain.

I understand that companies need to assess multiple applicants at the same time to give them a better chance of finding a suitable candidate quickly, but at least provide some level of transparency and don't waste the applicant's time if you are already offering the position to someone else.

Design a payment gateway API with a language of your choice.