The interview process felt unusually extensive for an individual contributor role. I applied in mid-February and had my first recruiter conversation in mid-March—delayed due to the original recruiter missing our scheduled meeting (I later found out they left the company). After following up multiple times, I finally received a rescheduling link two weeks later. I completed five out of six interview stages, including a take-home SQL assessment, cultural fit discussion, business case review, and a 30-minute presentation on a past project. After the fifth round, I was informed that I was "overqualified" and had more experience than the team was looking for. Given that my experience was clearly outlined on my resume and salary expectations were aligned early in the process, it was unclear why this determination came so late, after nearly two months and multiple rounds of interviews.