I went through five interviews and a full case study for a role that, to date, doesn’t appear to have ever formally existed. I was required to share detailed documentation , including diagrams and a consultation proposal, with an external consultant acting as the hiring manager. Despite this, I only presented the work to the consultant, not to internal stakeholders. I also met a C-level executive and another team member twice. I wasn’t selected. The process felt unnecessarily long, with unclear ownership and questionable transparency. Involving an external consultant in key hiring decisions without internal visibility or clear outcomes left a poor impression.