I received a quick response to my application, and my interactions throughout the early stages were very pleasant. The recruiter opened our phone screen by sharing that it was an exciting time of growth with many opportunities that might align with my background—even saying, “you’ll have your choice!” The conversation was engaging, informative, and left me feeling enthusiastic about the role, the company, and the potential opportunities ahead. I then progressed to a virtual interview with the Hiring Manager. I prepared for a camera-ready meeting, but the Hiring Manager joined without video and did not acknowledge being off camera. This left me feeling a bit uncomfortable sitting on video facing a black screen, wishing instead that the meeting had simply been scheduled as a phone interview. At that point, it didn’t feel appropriate to turn my own camera off. The interview itself was casual and transparent, which I appreciated, but it lacked structure and left me feeling somewhat over-prepared. I was asked about a typical day in my last role and my proficiency with various software tools. Although 60 minutes were scheduled, the conversation felt like it was being wrapped up within 15 minutes; we stayed on for about 30 minutes only because I asked additional questions. The Hiring Manager did provide a clear timeline of next steps. Unfortunately, I later received an automated rejection. When I reached out for feedback, I didn’t receive a response from the recruiter. Instead, I received a duplicate (direct) email later that day with simply a copy/paste of the automated rejection message from the coordinator who scheduled my interview, who also didn’t reply to my request for feedback. I applied to another open role at InPwr, as I remained impressed by the company overall, but received the same automated rejection the same day. I fully understand the importance of finding the right candidate for a role and I’m thankful for the opportunity to connect with the Hiring Manager. However, I do feel the process could have been stronger with more consistent communication and better alignment of interview format. As a candidate who invested significant time preparing to present my best self—and who left the phone screen genuinely energized about opportunities with the company—the lack of alignment, structure, and follow-through was disappointing.