My first interview was with HR. After that, I was sent a business case to complete within 3 days. The brief stated that I would then present my work to a panel in the next round. The task was extremely demanding: a full repositioning exercise for a fictitious company with very limited information. Requirements included: an initial SWOT analysis, positioning and messaging for various personas, two pricing and packaging models with reasoning, a 6-month GTM plan, outlining the working cadence with a fictitious GTM strategist, and explaining the value proposition methodology. All of this had to fit into either 6 PowerPoint slides or 3 pages in Word. For context, such an exercise typically takes months in a real company. I submitted my work in PowerPoint format, ensuring I addressed every bullet point in the brief. I then received a generic rejection, stating that more outcomes and “depth” were expected, but with no specifics. Concerns with the process: Format expectations unclear – Allowing either PowerPoint or Word without clarifying which format would be evaluated more favorably is inconsistent. PowerPoint naturally limits written detail compared to a Word document. I'm not sure how much depth was expected from a 6-page powerpoint with a laundry list of requirements. Unstated assessment stage – The brief suggested all candidates would present their work in the next round, but in reality, there was an initial internal assessment first of your submission which decided if you get a chance to present your work. This was not communicated and our expectations were not aligned. Lack of meaningful feedback – Given the time investment, I expected more specific feedback. The rejection email contained only generic comments and buzzwords with no references to specific components of my work. Lack of transparency in assessment – The feedback stated that my work was missing additional deliverables that were never outlined in the original brief. If extra outcomes were expected beyond what was provided, this should have been clearly communicated in advance. Overall, the process felt misaligned with the effort required, especially for a task that in real-world settings would take months. In my opinion, this approach risks coming across as an attempt to crowdsource ideas rather than fairly assess candidates. For Product Marketing Managers: treat any company that requires a full repositioning exercise as part of an early-stage interview with caution.