Their recruiter reached out to me on LinkedIn about a Senior Full Stack position — I wasn’t actively looking for a job. He was polite and shared details about the company and the role, emphasizing how impressed he was with my skill set. The meeting lasted about 50 minutes. Around 40 of those minutes were spent discussing company perks, culture, and the hiring process. He mentioned that the next step would be a take-home assignment with a three-day deadline. I responded respectfully that I don’t complete unpaid coding tasks. After that, it seemed my skill set was no longer quite as impressive.