I interviewed for a position in November 2024. Although the process wasn’t particularly hard in terms of difficulty, it took place during the end of the quarter and the end of the year — a notoriously busy period. Despite this, I paused my schedule to complete a task that took me a good few hours and prepare a presentation that, along with the Q&A session, lasted nearly an hour. After delivering a complete sales strategy task, a detailed 90-day action plan, and more, and after receiving excellent feedbacks from the people that were in the presentation session, the outcome was a generic rejection email, with no feedback or justification, informing me that they had chosen another candidate and that is was a hard decision for them. Here’s the takeaway: If we’re expected to invest our time and effort into creating thoughtful, high-quality work and approach an opportunity with professionalism, it’s only fair to expect the same level of respect and consideration from the hiring company. My advice to professionals is this: Set a high bar for the companies you engage with. Be discerning about where you choose to work. A company’s culture reveals itself in the hiring process — don’t overlook the signals just because you’re eager to land a job or they’ve made a compelling pitch to pretend they are the best company to work at. Actions speak louder than words. The time and care a company dedicates to candidates during the process should reflect the effort we put in. If they fall short during these early stages, that’s often a glimpse of what’s to come. Truly disappointed with Storyblok and their terrible interview process.