I was excited about the opportunity to interview at Verkada, but the process was extremely frustrating and left me feeling disrespected as a candidate. I had my initial hiring manager screen with Stephanie Kang on May 29, where she expressed interest in fast-tracking me to final interviews to align with the current candidate pipeline. That same day, she followed up with details about a homework assignment and the final interview process. I promptly sent over my availability and followed up with questions about what to expect in the interviews—competencies, structure, prep materials, etc. I never received a response. I followed up again on June 2, and still heard nothing. Because of the lack of communication, I went into my onsite interviews on June 4 at the Verkada office completely unprepared in terms of expectations. I had no guidance beyond the titles listed in the calendar invites. This was particularly surprising and disappointing given that I had been told I was being fast-tracked. After the onsite, I was told I’d receive an update by the end of the week—ideally by June 6—so a final decision could be made the following week. I followed up daily until June 10, when I was told I’d have an update by June 11. I followed up again that evening after not hearing anything, and finally received a message on June 12 informing me that the role had been filled. This experience made me feel like my time wasn’t respected, and frankly, like a finalist had already been chosen before my interviews even took place. I felt like I was kept in process simply as a backup option. At a minimum, I expected timely communication and some basic level of transparency—neither of which were provided. Advice to the company: If you're going to fast-track a candidate, provide the support and communication needed to help them succeed. Ghosting candidates, failing to provide prep, and going silent around key decision moments reflects poorly on your hiring practices. Respect for candidate time and transparency in the process should be non-negotiable.