I interviewed at Gardyn for the Senior Product Designer role and went through SIX rounds of interviews, including one with the CEO. For an individual contributor role, six interviews is excessive and unnecessary. It represents hours of unpaid candidate time, only to end in rejection. A drawn-out process like this not only discourages strong applicants but also signals inefficiency in hiring practices. Companies that respect candidates should be able to make an informed decision in fewer steps. I was also asked to complete a case study focused on solving a business challenge. While common, this practice raises serious concerns. When candidates are asked to produce work that the company could directly benefit from, that work should be compensated. Unpaid design challenges are essentially free consulting and are unfair to candidates, especially at senior levels. Additionally, I was asked for feedback on the Gardyn app. I had downloaded it beforehand but could not access meaningful features without creating an account and owning a system. While I take responsibility for not fully creating an account, the company could better support candidates by either suggesting they sign up beforehand or providing access to a demo environment. Without this, candidates are left to make assumptions about the product experience. For future candidates: Be prepared for a lengthy, time-intensive process, unpaid project work, and limited product access. Unless Gardyn addresses these issues by streamlining their interviews, compensating for case studies, and supporting candidates with the right tools, the process will remain inefficient and unnecessarily burdensome.