The process was just over a month, I had around 6-7 interviews two of which were with the same person. I frequently found myself having to chase for follow ups 2-3 days after interviews. I was asked for my salary expectations in the first round but when i clarified at stage 3 on my expectations i was told the salary was a different base amount but included a performance bonus which wasn't what i was told at stage 1, it worked out around 10k less than what i had asked. I was asked to attend a in-person, despite it being remote and there being no mention of this in person before and I was firmly assured by the recruiter that this was just a sense check from both sides, if all went well we would 'look to move to offer', along with comments from other people i met with that said misleading comments like 'you are joining a company that is very agile', 'when you come onboard with us' and when i asked for clarity on the bonus scheme structure, i was told ‘when we move to offer we can explain all this’ all of which made me feel i had the job, along with constantly receiving strong feedback and even being invited out for a drink with the team after the in person. You don't do that to a candidate unless you are 100% sure you are going to offer IMO. I then had to chase 3 days after my in-person to receive a message from the recruiter apologising for the delay and an email saying I would be called that day which he signed off with a 'looking forward to speaking with you!' which led me to think it was a positive call, only to be told they had chosen someone else. I was genuinely speechless, after I felt I had been purposefully led to believe the role was mine with constant reinforcing of an offer being mine, no mention of another candidate at any stage despite several transparent conversations with several people and the enthusiastic email from the recruiter who called with an update. I was left feeling very led on, stupid and a little embarrassed. Towards the end it was a bit messy and chats just kept being added which in hindsight I think was to stall me to possibly wait around for another candidate to catch up to my interview rounds before they made their decision. Who knows. Some very cruel tactics here, this wasn't just a good candidate experience strategy, I definitely felt like I had been played.