A trusted colleague referred me, which is why I went against my usual policy of refusing to do free work, and I agreed to provide a work sample as part of the interview process. I created a presentation for the hiring manager to evaluate. That was in the first week of September 2022. In mid-October, I received a communication that my application would be evaluated the next week. Since then until now (January 2023), I followed up a few times, but I never heard another word. This is very rude and unprofessional.