u/flugtard

Hi all, really appreciate the community here, I read posts frequently and it's nice to feel like we're going through similar experiences.

So I'm still simmering from this rejection from earlier this week. I'm mainly posting here so I can talk to real people and stop spiraling out continually asking gemini what to do.

I'm a mid-level designer, currently employed, and got a high-level referral for a dream job at a startup. Passed through all 4 interview rounds, including a technical interview with HM, panel where they asked about 15 questions rapid fire, and final round with the VP of design. Radio silence for more than a week was then followed by the "unfortunately we've went with someone else" email.

The rejection is inherently frustrating but I'm more so disappointed by how specific signs pointed to "yes":

• Most telling: the recruiter reached out to me hours after my final interview asking about "timeline constraints", then asked again about timeline constraints after a couple days. (Which I take to mean, we want to know if you have other offers expiring so we don't get beaten out by them).
• Vibes were great, even in a couple of my interviews they said stuff like "it's a great sign we're already on xyz topic bc I was just going to ask that".. etc.

This latest rejection marked the end of a 3-mo long process where it was constantly in the back of my head. I'm also frustrated because this is the 2nd time this happened in the past couple months-- got another rejection after a week of silence for a totally different company, after doing all rounds of interviews and being a perfect fit on paper.

• Has anyone else been asked for their timeline constraints only to get a rejection? I thought they wouldn't ask unless you were someone they wanted.
• What could I do now to maintain this connection so if by chance they have an opening way down the line, I can be top of mind?
• I can't help but feel like I could have prepped for the panel questions better or that it would have pushed me over the line if I had sent specific thank you notes to all my interviewers (only did that for the HM), would that have made a difference if the candidates were very close?
• Since they were building out a team and hiring multiple people, was it possible that it was just a matter of team dynamics/composition and had nothing to do with my actual skill.. if so how can I manage my frustration around the aspects out of my control?
• if this is the 2nd time I went thru all rounds but got no offer, what does this say about my strengths and weaknesses and the best way I can improve my chances in the future?

Just wanted to create space to vent about how frustrating and opaque this process feels.