The interview process unfolded precisely as anticipated, with both positive and negative aspects.
The process consisted of culture and technical interviews, followed by a senior management interview.
The first few stages were fine, and I passed with flying colours. After the technical interview, when I'd produced and presented work for the UX task that I'd spent time perfecting, I was hoping for constructive feedback. Instead, I learned that they would not proceed, but I received no insights into my performance or how I could improve.
No reason, no feedback, not even a personal email - only a generic 3rd party email (AI chatbot response). In these cases, I would not be surprised if the company created jobs like these to secure additional design work or research from other designers within the industry, without any responsibility or onwership.
My advice would be to show empathy and provide at least some feedback on the decision. Ideally, schedule a call to go through the reasons. Those of us applying for jobs invest significant time in tasks and would greatly appreciate clear, actionable feedback on our work and interview performance.