I would rate the overall experience higher if I didn't highly suspect the interview to be a sham ( "one that is conducted for the sake of showing intent to hire competitively while concealing the true intent of hiring someone in particular who has been chosen beforehand" and/or one to fulfill a company's interviewing quota so they can hire friends). I started by submitting an online application. About 20 days after, I received an email from a Lyra talent partner. They requested to have a 20-30 minute phone call. I scheduled the phone call a week later. I was really interested in the job and spent the next week creating specific design samples to strengthen my application - after all, I suspected they were legitimately considering me for the position. On the day of the phone call, we spoke on the phone for about 15 minutes. The talent partner was very nice and well-spoken. They appreciated the new samples and hoped I didn't spend too much time on them. They spoke a little bit about the position (as well as another one, which I wasn't expecting). At the end of the call, they said I would hear something after a few days about whether or not I would proceed to the next step. The following morning, I received an email saying I was being advanced to the next step (a bit sooner than anticipated). The video call had been scheduled with the hiring manager about a week later. On the day of the interview, the hiring manager was for the most part very nice and easy to speak with. The questions that were asked were not at all difficult to answer and seemed a bit generalized. There was a lack of specific interest in me explicitly in regard to the position and/or how I would be a great addition to Lyra's team. It was almost more like having a casual and slightly vague conversation about the two jobs. It wasn't distinctly clear as to whether I was being considered for one or both. It seemed more like they were running through the motions, occasionally writing down a note or two. Around the 15-minute mark, they mentioned how I had burned through their questions but continued to think of other things to ask. A couple of minutes after that, the interview was winding down to a natural end. As a final comment to the hiring manager, I said "thank you very much for speaking with me today. I am very interested in the position and would love to be considered." After an awkward pause, the manager responded with a very strange and simple "ok." It wasn't a positively spoken "ok" nor an overtly negative "ok", but one that felt very unusual and awkward. Almost like they thought it was strange I had said that. After 27 minutes, we said our polite goodbyes and that was that. There was no mention of what the next steps would be or whether they would get back to me. Exactly one week after that, I received an email saying they had closed the job (I didn't get the job). About another week after that, I sent an email to the hiring manager asking how I could improve to be considered in the future. They responded by saying it was just a matter of timing (compared to the person they had chosen for the job). No mention of how I could improve, just that it was timing. I found the reason odd given that they initially took 20 days to get back to my application. If timing were an issue, why not conduct the interview much sooner if they were truly interested in me? With all that said, my advice to potential interviewees: If you have an upcoming Lyra interview, I recommend asking them from the start why they are considering you/why your application stood out to them. If Lyra doesn't mind conducting sham interviews (which is an unprofessional thing to do and sadly common practice these days) then they can't be too upset if you are upfront from the start. Your time is valuable.