I initially reached out to the company directly and, instead of having an informational chat, I was immediately sent a “next steps” email with an automated online assessment and a tight deadline over a long weekend. The assessment was very broad and difficult (logic tests, C#, React, and complex SQL including recursion). After being told I “did well,” I had a short, generic HR behavioral interview where the main message was that they “wanted to hire fast.” The next day, I had the final technical interview with a senior engineering leader. Without any prior explanation of the format, I was asked to build a full task app from scratch (database, .NET API, and React frontend) in a single 1.5-hour live interview. As I struggled with the scope, the interview atmosphere felt checked out rather than collaborative, which made the experience feel discouraging and unprofessional from a candidate experience perspective.