I applied for a position at Canonical and the initial response was very fast and promising. Within a day, a Hiring Manager reached out, expressing positive feedback on my CV. The first step was a demanding writing assignment: a three-page essay answering a detailed set of personal and professional questions. I dedicated about a week to completing this, and the feedback was immediate and positive—the HM was happy with the essay. Following the essay, I was required to complete a technical Online Assessment (OA), which I successfully cleared by passing all test cases. The next stage was the Thomas GIA Test (General Intelligence Assessment). I invested the time to complete all five sections. My results showed I performed Acceptable (average/satisfactory) in four sections and Exceptional (above average) in the Numerical Information section, indicating a strong capability for the role's requirements. Given the positive feedback on the CV and essay, the successful clearance of the technical OA, and satisfactory cognitive assessment scores, I felt highly confident about moving forward. However, I was promptly hit with a generic rejection email, stating they had decided to proceed with other candidates.