Process felt drawn out from the outset — there was a gap of two to three weeks between the first round and being invited to the second stage, with little communication in between. On the call itself, at least two of the three panel members appeared disengaged, visibly working on laptops rather than giving the presentation their full attention — which made it difficult to gauge genuine interest or build the kind of two-way dialogue you'd expect from a serious hiring conversation. Adding to that, the role had been live for several months and there were signs that a significant number of candidates had been put through the same task and presentation process. The combination of a lengthy timeline, panel disengagement, and what appeared to be a high volume of interviewees raised questions about whether there was a genuine, live hiring need behind the process — or whether candidates were effectively being asked to invest significant time and intellectual effort into case studies without a clear intention to hire