I was approached directly on LinkedIn by a recruiter — there was no public job posting or job description shared at any point during the process. The process involved two rounds on my end: an initial video call with the Design Manager, followed by an in-person interview in Hamburg with the Head of Design and a Chapter Lead. I later found out there were at least two more rounds planned after that — with tech and PMs — which were never communicated upfront. When I asked about the full process, I was only told I'd be informed about the next step. The live case study format itself was the most interesting part. Two collaborative sessions moderated by the Head of Design — a design critique and a product sense exercise. The Head of Design was upfront that they avoid whiteboard challenges because no one enjoys designing in front of others, and that they want to see how candidates collaborate. That part I respected. The main issues: - No job description at any point, making it impossible to understand the role scope or evaluation criteria - The salary range was never shared. I asked the recruiter twice directly and was refused both times — which is unusual and made it impossible to assess fit before investing time in the process - The full interview process was never disclosed — I only learned about additional rounds after being rejected - After travelling to Hamburg specifically for the interview, the rejection was a generic template with no specific feedback - The process felt exploratory rather than tied to a concrete open role — the Head of Design mentioned they source candidates directly on LinkedIn rather than posting publicly Tips for candidates: - Ask for the full process structure and salary range upfront. If you don't get answers, factor that into how much time you invest. - For the first interview with the Design Manager, a slide deck is not required but I'd strongly recommend preparing one anyway. It significantly helps with storytelling and presenting your work in the best possible way.