I first applied in early April and received a rejection almost a month later. I suppose I reapplied sometime in early June but I don't recall. In any case, this time I got a call back. I spoke with the recruiter who was absolutely lovely, and I was selected for the second round.
I had a great conversation with the hiring manager. It even went a little over the allotted time. I walked away feeling pretty positive about the interview. I typically do an audio recording of interviews just to analyze how I sound, and I even ran the transcript through an AI to recheck my sentiments. Even the AI seemed to pick up that it was a positive and productive conversation. I then waited. Nothing the next day, Nothing the day after. Waited a week, then got an email from the recruiter saying that they didn't select me to move forward.
I am mystified and I asked for feedback, though nothing has materialized. I feel like they were looking for something of a unicorn, someone who is just such a tailor made, perfect fit.