Interview Process: I applied online and was invited to a first round panel interview with three people. It was a structured, score-based set of questions followed by over an hour of discussion, covering both work-related topics and personal preferences/experiences. A few days later, they invited me to a coffee chat with the same panel. As someone recently laid off, this felt like a very positive sign. It gave me hope that they saw me as a serious contender. During the chat, they spent significant time describing the role, the systems in place, and how multiple departments were integrated. The way they explained the complexity made me feel genuinely excited — I could see myself contributing and learning a lot. But here’s the problem: From my resume and the first round, it was crystal clear that I am a senior developer by background. After investing hours into both rounds — and allowing myself to hope — they told me after the coffee chat that my developer experience “wasn’t a fit” for this analyst role. This was something they could have determined right at the start. Pros: Friendly and engaged panel. Detailed explanation of the systems and workflows, which showed me the bigger picture of the role. Cons: Did not assess role fit early, despite my resume clearly showing a developer-heavy background. Gave a laid-off candidate hope by progressing to an in-depth coffee chat, only to reject for reasons obvious from the first glance. Time-consuming process (two rounds) that could have been avoided. Advice to Management: Be mindful of candidates’ situations, especially when they are between jobs. If a candidate’s core background doesn’t match the role, decide that early instead of proceeding to multiple rounds. Giving false hope and then reversing course after a coffee chat is discouraging and wastes everyone’s time.