I applied for a position at Welcome Pickups and went through a recruitment process that lasted approximately 1.5 months (during the first interview, HR indicated an overall timeline of around two weeks). The whole process involved 3 interviews with a total duration of over 3 hours, including an on-site interview (that required me to take time off from my current job). The assignment phase was particularly exploitative: I spent 15+ hours producing an over 20-page deliverable, due to missing information, gaps, and unclear phrasing in the materials provided, and addressing issues, which included (as they admitted later in the interview) real-time, unresolved business issues, meaning they received free advice as to how they should resolve it, which is highly unethical, particularly in my line of work. During the review, it was evident that my work hadn't even been fully read (I submitted 2 deliverables, and one of them was admitted not to have been spotted at all). Instead, the interviewers used the time to solicit my input on additional active company problems. The final interview with the CEO was fundamentally disconnected from the Greek market and the junior/mid-level nature of the role. I was criticized for a lack of "startup experience" in a field where Greek startups rarely hire in-house and faced dismissive comments about my career choices (i.e. when discussing my career move, I was told I should have known before going to a new employer that it wasn't a fit). After meeting every deadline and providing input on active business challenges, I was ghosted by HR (not answering my phone calls in order to have an estimate as to when to expect results and know what to do with other opportunities) and ultimately met with a generic rejection email. Overall, the process required a significant time investment for a junior/mid-level role, including substantive involvement in active, unresolved company issues, without a proportionate level of compensation, or sufficient clarity and specific knowledge on evaluation.