Great process in the first stage. The first call was with a Team Lead. They checked experience and asked about Unit Testing, previous projects, agile software development, understanding of dsa, etc.

30 min phone call with tech lead. Great casual conversation about code and best practices. Says he doesn't mind at all the fact that I have slightly less years of experience than the role demands as long as I'm eager to learn. Then assigns a very time consuming fullstack take home project that also requires thorough documentation. I go absolutely above and beyond in all aspects of the project. My code is solid. I write a thabk you note and say that at the very least would love some feedback on my work. A few days later get a call that they wouldn't be moving forward and that his feedback was that they needed to go with someone who had a few more years of React experience. I never forgot this interview because of how rude and disrespectful this guy was of my time. A take home. Project should be one of 3 things: short, paid, or wayyy later in the interview process, probably right before an offer is made, just to make sure you can code. I really hope engineers start standing up to inconsiderate employers like this.