I was contacted by a senior hiring manager, who read my profile and made me apply to a few teams that matched my background and interests. After a phone screen, I was told to apply to a Senior position in one of these orgs. I was reluctant because I was aiming for a lower position, but they insisted it was not a problem. That was a mistake. The day of the interview came and went. I felt like I hadn't done that well, I wasn't expecting a callback. I was surprised when their recruiter called me to offer me a position! It was not the level I was applying for, of course, but I was still happy to accept. The recruiter said a hiring manager would get back to me soon. Three days pass, and no word from them. I emailed the recruiter to ask what was going on... An automated reply told me she had left the company. I immediately try to call the hiring manager I talked to before... Her phone line was disconnected. In a panic, I reached out to several recruiters within Microsoft in hopes to get some help. Finally somebody responds. Later that day, the new recruiter in charge of my case reaches out. All is good again, although of course I'm not as confident about the process anymore. Two more days pass. I email the new recruiter to ask for a status update. She calls me back... To tell me the team had decided to move on with other candidates "because I wasn't a good fit for the senior position". In summary, I was told to apply to a position I was not a good fit for, even though I had concerns. They left me in hiring limbo, without thinking to let me know the points of contact had changed. Finally, they let me go because (surprise) I was not a good fit for the level I applied for. This whole thing feels like a bad joke.