I was approached by a recruiter to gauge my interest in the role. After 3 conversations with the recruiting firm, I was then passed on to meet with the hiring manager for an initial half-hour intro conversation who explained their interviewing process. The first round involved meeting with 3-4 team members for about 45 minutes each. If those conversations went well, I would be required to take an "EQ/IQ" test, which was really more of a critical reasoning test with some ethics questions dropped in. The initial 3-4 meetings went well and I (thankfully) passed the test (which I was told by the recruiter was not a sure thing and that several other candidates had not passed). The test took about 90 minutes to complete. Following that, I had a second interview with the hiring manager with a more in-depth discussion of the role, the challenges, the opportunities, my experience etc, which was another hour. I was then asked to meet with someone in HR and the CEO, both for about 45 minutes each. The HR person was fine, but lacked professionalism, e.g. looked at her make-up in the zoom call, fluffing her hair, saying hello to people walking past her office during our discussion (multiple times, mind you). I then had another 30 minute "prep" discussion with the recruiter for the meeting with the CEO. The recruiter had me confused with another candidate (referencing some analytical work for the role I had not completed) and when I told him he had me mistaken with someone else, he had the nerve to tell me *I* was wrong. (Umm, I'm pretty sure I'd remember doing an additional assignment for this process?) Finally, the meeting with the CEO...he showed up 20 minutes late with a lackluster apology. Because we had only booked 30 minutes, we didn't have a ton of time together despite my pushing off my following meeting. Apparently I did well enough because I was then asked to complete a 90-day plan with a "5 point strategic plan" after the 90-day plan (huh? but okay). That exercise took about 20 hours to complete. Once it was submitted....crickets. After 3 weeks and my follow-up with the recruiter, I was told Ideal Image decided to change the role to lower roles. That was it. No thank you from the hiring manager, the HR contact, nothing. I understand that companies want to get a sense of the quality of work (especially at the senior level position), however, I felt like I handed off strategic plans they then could have run with without ever crediting or compensating me. At a minimum, I deserved a conversation with the hiring manager with some context on their decision not to move forward. All in, I probably spent 40 hours in this endeavor. To not have a respectful conversation at the end of the process was insulting and left me with ill will towards the organization. Senior leaders, be wary of the PE-backed interview requirements. They are time-consuming. Do it if you're excited about the position, but be protective of your time. Your experience, insights, and strategic thoughts are valuable to these organizations.