I found the job posting through LinkedIn and applied on their website. Got a call from HR which was a nice conversation. I was then scheduled to meet the Manager and Lead onsite. The office space was lively, open-concept, and the team members looked happy to be there. The interview session was extremely pleasant and they were very forthcoming giving ample time for more conversation, and less interview. I was given a take-home challenge the next day and was given about 5 days to complete. I sent it back in 3 days, and was then invited to a code review session. This was (for me) very educational and I learnt how to look at a coding challenge from a different perspective. Then there was reference check, followed by an offer. Salary negotiation began at the Reference check stage, and they went really low with their offer, and went up marginally once the reference check came back (positively, i assume). I declined since they agreed to my initial compensation request and then heavily low-balled because they thought I was more Junior than Intermediate. I was excited about the place, and would have accepted but this flip-flop was not a welcome sign for me.