The first conversation was handled well and the person I initially spoke with was professional and respectful. The process was later handled by a different team member, and from that point onward the experience changed. The interviews themselves appeared to move forward normally. Later in the process I was told the role had been placed on hold. Each follow-up afterward received the same response, that a decision would be communicated when there was one. No timeline, no honest read on whether the role would move forward, no acknowledgment that "on hold" had quietly become indefinite. The experience was disrespectful of the time and effort a candidate invests in a multi-round process. A role placed on hold late in the process is, in practice, a role that is no longer hiring. Repeated holding messages instead of an honest close preserves the company's option to revive the search later at the cost of the candidate's own job search.