One of the worst candidate experiences I’ve ever had. I was assigned a technical project to build a School Management System API — a large-scale backend system with role-based access (Superadmin, School Admin), complex business logic, and strict requirements around authentication, validation, error handling, testing, documentation, and security. To top it off, they insisted I build everything using their internal template — which was completely undocumented, hard to navigate, and unlike any standard project structure. I had to reverse-engineer how things worked just to get started. They gave only 3 days for the assignment, without asking my availability. Since I’m a full-time engineer, I asked to do it over the weekend. I spent my entire weekend, working non-stop with minimal breaks to complete everything, even the bonus tasks. However, I did my part with the following: - 22+ endpoints with full CRUD operations - Complex business logic like classroom capacity limits, student transfers, etc. - Authentication and Authorization middleware - Strict input validation and error handling - Rate limiting, security headers, and best practices - Full Dockerization - Database schema design with EER diagram - API documentation - E2E tests using Jest and Supertest I submitted the project on time, fully functional, tested, and near production-ready. And then I was completely ghosted. No feedback. No acknowledgement. No follow-up. This is not just inconsiderate — it’s exploitative. They got a full working system built with care and pressure — and gave me nothing in return. It feels like they’re using candidates to get free work, with zero regard for our time and effort. If you're considering interviewing here — don’t. It’s a complete waste of time.