The Good: The interview process started off quite well. I had an initial screening call where we discussed my experience and, importantly, my salary expectations, which seemed to be aligned with their budget. The technical team I spoke with during the later stages was knowledgeable, and the pair programming session was a good, practical exercise. The Bad: After the initial positive screening, I was given a take-home task which I completed and submitted. This was followed by two more technical interviews, including a pair programming session to discuss my project. Throughout these stages, all the feedback seemed positive, and I was given the impression that things were moving forward. However, after the final technical round, there was complete silence for over two weeks. I had to follow up myself. When I finally received a response, it was a generic email from HR stating they couldn't move forward because my salary request wasn't a match. This was incredibly frustrating and felt unprofessional, especially since my salary expectations were discussed and seemingly approved in the very first interview. It felt like a complete waste of time and effort.