I extensively interviewed over approximately 2-3 months. Met with multiple members of the design team, had 5 or 6 interviews total. (Started with HR, then a non-design employee, then a design employee, and slowly worked up to the next rank of design employee until speaking to the heads.) I was routinely given positive feedback, interest, and confirmation that I was the number one candidate only against one other person. Finally, I was instructed that I would be given a mock project as the final part of the process, insinuating that upon this final step, I would be offered the job. I completed said project. I received positive feedback. Keep in mind, I devoted hours and hours of my time in interviews, and nearly 2 full days of unpaid labor designing a complete mock project that included motion graphics, a pitch deck, and art direction/graphic design/general design skills. It was not a quick project but after months of the interview process being nothing but positive, it felt as if this would not be a waste of my time. Cut to the next 5 months. At first, I am told that the timeline was pushed back a month for the role but that upon this wait, they would offer me the role. Then it gets pushed back again. I inquire again, same answer. The timeline of my experience was as follows: October through end of November: Multiple rounds of virtual interviews. End of November: Mock Project assigned/submitted November through APRIL (Yes, April): Being told the timeline is shifting, but the role is still going as planned and an offer will be imminent. (Shifts multiple times). At first I am told "We wanted to share the update that our timeline on starting this position has been delayed. You remain our top candidate for the Junior Designer role. When we are ready to resume hiring, we will be directly in touch then." When I inquire about the new timeline, I am told Q1/Early Q2. Months go by. Q1 passes. I reach out every month or so, and receive a similar response. Finally, after many check in's, I write a final note in April as a hail mary to ensure there were no updates. "Further conversations have not yet resumed. We hire thoughtfully, to ensure we have the appropriate staffing levels correlating to the workload, and the team is gauging their work volume the first two quarters, before making a decision to bring someone on. They have not yet determined their needs. Since we are unable to provide a definitive answer, we understand we run the risk of losing you to other opportunities but would like to be in touch once we have updates. Please continue to keep us posted on your end. Looking forward!" Information such as if you are actually hiring a team member is the kind of thing you, as a company, should know before requiring hours of interviewing and unpaid labor from a young creative professional. I'm not saying anything about the quality of the company, because I can't speak to that. All I can share is my experience- and my experience is that for 6 months I performed every task, every interview, everything I possibly could to secure this job. And to this day, a year later, I still have not gotten an official message about the role, not even an update. I feel the entire experience with them end up being nothing but frustrating and disheartening from a company that I viewed as one that seemingly had respect for designers effort and time. My fellow designers: unless you have a passion for unpaid mock projects, unrealistic timelines, and useless interviews, I would not recommend pursuing work at Adtheorent.