The assessment link did not work. It redirected to the company’s general careers page, not the test. So he emailed HR to ask for a correct one — with the other applicants copied in.
The reply came back: the careers page was intentional. The company, HR explained, was evaluating candidates on their attention to detail. Then they rejected him.
He asked the internet whether this was normal practice. The consensus was that he had dodged something. A broken link, a test of noticing the broken link, and a rejection for asking about it — a loop the candidate could not have won.