Dries Van Noten interview questions

I went through several rounds of interviews for a position, including meetings with the hiring manager and later with the director. The discussions were engaging and I was told that my profile was being seriously considered, as they were deciding between my application and another candidate. However, after the final interview, communication stopped for several weeks. I had to follow up multiple times to receive any update. On the morning of my last follow-up, I was informed by the manager that they would get back to me shortly and apologized for the delay. About ten minutes later, I received a rejection email from HR. While I fully respect the final decision, the overall candidate experience was disappointing due to the lack of proactive communication and transparency throughout the process. After investing significant time and energy into multiple interviews, clearer and more consistent updates would have been appreciated.