It was great, but after being told I'd hear back I was ghosted. It's never a good look when companies dont atleast get back to people who have taken their time to apply and interview for a role

2 stage interview process (well, 3 really if you count the screening call). I applied to the role mid December, on LinkedIn and got contacted by recruitment on 9th of Jan so they responded pretty quickly considering there was winter break etc. After this point things moved a bit slower, but it is understandable given the large number of candidates and busy schedules of hiring managers. I’ve had an interview per week and was told the response should come either on the 1st or 3rd of Feb. This is where things took a turn, I didn’t hear back on either of those dates which was stressful because I was out of work and looking forward to join. Interviewing while in work is more relaxed so maybe that’s not something everyone would mind, but to me it was intense. I chased the recruiter- who was lovely throughout the process and checked on me before&after the interviews - and the next day he called to inform me that the hiring has been frozen for that role as a contractor stepped into full time and basically filled the position. This was a bit frustrating as I was left with the impression that I would have been offered, had the context not changed. However, these things happen in business and it doesn’t change my impression on all the staff I’ve interacted with. The interviews had a natural conversation flow and everyone I interacted with was genuinely friendly. I took the 1st in the office and the 2nd on teams, but this depends on the department and where the hiring manager is working from that day. Overall, a nice company, newly renovated office, hybrid working pattern and relaxed dresscode, despite things not going my way, I was left with a positive experience and would recommend them to friends.