I had two rounds of interviews: a Zoom call with the CEO (which felt odd as a first stage), followed by a take-home assignment and an in-person interview where I walked through my work. After all of that, they ghosted me, not even a word to let me know I wasn't being offered the position. Regardless of the outcome, candidates deserve basic communication after completing a multi-stage process. The lack of any response was unprofessional and disrespectful of my time. It also made me wonder whether they were serious about filling the role at all, or simply using the assignment to gather strategic thinking and ideas without compensation — something that, unfortunately, happens all too often these days.