Recruiter said the entire process would take 2 weeks during the first call. It ended up taking 2 months with random added steps that were not mentioned by the recruiter. Went through a lengthy 7-step process including an extremely time-consuming and involved take-home exercise, after which I was asked to do yet another interview to "go over the exercise". They explained that this extra step was in lieu of the panels since the panel interviewees were on PTO. But lo and behold, I had to do another round of panels anyway, in which many of the interviewers seemed unprepared/knew nothing about localization. Lack of transparency and strange vibes throughout. Feedback after not receiving an offer was that they need someone with "more technical skills". Technical skills was hardly ever mentioned in the entire lengthy process (one question about Excel skills in the HM interview, that's it). Also technical skills are not emphasized at all in the job description. Very weird experience. Also I had to follow up after about 3 weeks of being ghosted after the final round.
