I had a short screening call with the HR and then straight to the in-person interview with the Product Owner and a future colleague. After that I was given an assignment which then I had to present in-person again. Everything went great! The amount of positive energy and excitement I got from the team was immense: they were excited, I've answered all of their questions and they actually taught me something I didn't know about or haven't worked with in the past and I left their premises feeling like this job is mine. No head in the clouds or anything - genuine excitement I've never felt in all my years of work experience. Two days after our interview HR called me and told me about something "about me not having a structured or methodical way of working" which got me wondering, so I messaged the Product Owner who was in front of all the interviews asking for clarifications for which I got back:
"even though we appreciated your open personality a lot, there were a few situations were we got distracted from the main topic. For our current setup and team structure, we really need someone who can stay strong on the point with no distractions and we felt that missing a bit from your side".
Honestly that was the most weird, borderline-foolish way of rejection I've ever gotten. I've gotten rejections about finding better than me candidates, or that I was lacking something that perhaps had to do with my seniority level. But this? About my "focus levels"? Well I do not have ADHD or any other disorders keeping me from focusing but the only reason I would understand such decision would be if I started presenting and then stopped at times to discuss the weather or the outfit I was wearing for example.
Overall I feel like this was a huge waste of time, especially given the fact that the entire job description was based on something I've doing daily for the past 2+ years and that the feedback I got was anything but respectful to that. Perhaps I just solved one of their tickets that day.