i applied for this job at X firm( i will name the firm at the end of the post) at november 2023(they are hiring for this role from june 2023) i got the call at jan 2024 that my resume has been shortlisted. when i enquired with them why this role was open they mentioned that they were on hiring freeze so we are actually hiring now. Spoke to them about my salary expectation and made it clear. suddenly they ghosted me and for 4 months nothing no rejection mail nothing. then out of blue one of my contacts at this X firm reached out to me in Linkedin and asked what happened to my application then he forwarded my resume again and then a new recruiter called and i made the salary expectation clear again. they gave me a case study which made me work for 20 hours for free. then followed by 3 rounds of interview. after every round they said feedback is positive. after the final round 3 weeks have passed 30 hours of work was done in this process at this point. then recruiter started giving vague answer about the feedback. suddenly after 1 week i got a generic rejection email. Wont apply for this again