Seven rounds, eleven weeks, and the role was closed before the last one

Screen, hiring manager, take-home, take-home review, system design, two behavioral, and a "quick culture chat" that makes eight if you count it.

Week ten they went quiet. Week eleven: budget reallocated, role on hold, they'd "keep me in mind."

Eleven weeks is a real cost. That's eleven weeks I wasn't pushing as hard on other pipelines because this one felt close. I'm not sure the lesson is anything more than: never treat a process as close, no matter how far in you are.

What's your record for number of rounds?