Thirty years of C++. The recruiter came to him about a role needing half a dozen deep C++ developers. He sent the résumé. The reply: not enough distributed systems experience.
He asked what the client meant by distributed systems. He had built client-server applications, written server applications with RESTful APIs. The recruiter listened, then placed him as a mid-level developer because of the distributed systems gap, and put him forward.
The interview asked about agentic code completion and how he would architect features. None of it was mid-level. After the standard C++ questions the call ended, and for two weeks there was nothing.
Then the recruiter messaged again with a canned opener about the same C++ role, as though the first application had never happened. He replied politely that he had applied and heard nothing. The recruiter apologised, said the response had been sitting in his drafts, said the client had passed because he needed distributed systems experience — and then apologised for not having any entry-level positions available.