I was scheduled for a phone interview with the recruiter shortly after I applied and thought the conversation went well and was really excited about the opportunity. (I also spoke with an internal employee about the company prior and had a good overview of the company and culture and felt prepared for the conversation.) I followed up with the recruiter a week after for an update and she said she would get back to me the following week, but another week and a half goes by without any follow-up so I decided to reach out again. Shortly after reaching out, I received an automated e-mail from their system indicating that they decided to move forward with another candidate at this time. I understand that they decided not to proceed with my candidacy, but it's unfortunate that this came from an auto generated e-mail instead of responding back directly to me. Overall, I'm disappointed and felt like the experience could have been improved with more transparency, especially after a candidate puts in the time to prepare for the interview.