I had one interview with Particle — a phone call with the team lead, who was warm and had great energy. I was then given a home assignment. While I don’t necessarily agree with the idea of unpaid take-home work — especially when I already have a solid portfolio, a degree, and relevant experience — I agreed to do it and completed it within the limited free time I had.
What followed was complete radio silence. I reached out to the interviewer through multiple platforms and got no response whatsoever. Not even an automated rejection email.
Frankly, it’s unacceptable. Companies that claim to value creativity and innovation shouldn’t be exploiting candidates for free labor and then ghosting them. It’s not just unprofessional — it’s dehumanizing. Respecting people’s time and effort is the bare minimum. If this is how they treat potential teammates, I can only imagine how things run internally.