A recruiter reached out to me within a day after applying for the role and asked me to schedule time for an interview on their calendar. A few days later I spoke with the recruiter in a 30 minute phone screen. She promptly asked me several questions about my background and experience. What stood out about that conversation though is that she didn’t give me a chance to ask questions, just ended the interview after 30 mins. I was asked to send in work samples so I did. Then I got a follow-up a few days later for an interview with the hiring manager and scheduled that. A few days later I interviewed with the hiring manager over Zoom and she seemed pretty laid back and chill (though now in hindsight I wonder if that was disinterest). She asked me all the standard ID role questions. No huge surprises there. She seemed to appreciate my answers and I thought the conversation went pretty well. I asked her if she had any concerns or wanted me to elaborate on anything further and she said no, but she said she had a lot of people to talk to over 2 weeks time and that it will all come down to, “how I compared to other candidates.” Okaaaay? I felt a bit snubbed by that comment but whatever. The comparison remark was uncalled for but I figured maybe I’m just sensitive because I’m the candidate. About 4 days later, I got a follow up email from the recruiter saying that the hiring manager would not be moving forward with my application as the “process was very competitive” and there were “many qualified candidates.” It was a Friday afternoon so it ruined my weekend. She did say that the manager likes my background though and is open to keeping in touch. Again though, I felt like the competitive process comment was a bit snide. What are they trying to say? I’m not “competitive?” I’m only worthy of being hired on a “slow day?” I get that the market is INSANE right now with floods of candidates but that doesn’t give these companies the right to be so stuffy and snide. Professionalism is still appreciated as it’s hard enough to put yourself out there and interview. However, all that being said, at least they didn’t ghost me. I do appreciate the quick response and transparency throughout the process. I didn’t experience what some of the other candidates did along those lines so I can praise the recruiter and hiring manager for that. Perhaps a better fit will open up at Okta for me in the future with fewer to no snide remarks next time. We’ll see.