The company found him. His experience in AML and fraud was exactly what they wanted — so much so that they were building the requisition around him. Someone asked for his résumé and forwarded it to HR. Thirteen minutes later, HR emailed to schedule an interview.
They wanted him to meet the VP, even though the role was not open yet. The interview went well. The role opened. HR moved him to the assignment round.
He started the assignment and asked a clarifying question about the data. The answer changed the scope: everything had to be evaluated as of April, not today. He restarted. There was no deadline, but he told them he would need one extra day, and submitted the day after that, after having colleagues check his reasoning.
Then, late on a Saturday, an automated rejection arrived. That was the entire follow-up.
He had done roughly twenty-five interview assignments in two years and had never been rejected immediately after one. The sequence — actively recruited before the role existed, VP interview, assignment, automated no — left him with no information at all. Had they decided before he submitted? He would never know.