Ghosted After Five Rounds. Eight Months Later, the Recruiter Called Back. He Had a Plan.

A developer endured five interview rounds with a fintech startup, received a final nod from the CTO, and then heard nothing. No rejection, no update — silence that stretched into months. Eight months later, the same recruiter contacted him in a panic: their lead developer had quit. The candidate strung them along, claimed he had a competing offer to speed things up, and agreed to a "final technical sync" — scheduled for 4 p.m. on a Friday. He never showed.