I recently went through the interview process for a marketing role at a publicly traded company. Overall, my experience with the interviewers was very positive, and they were accommodating enough to schedule my final round interview after I returned from my honeymoon. However, things took a turn after the final interview. I was told I would receive an update by the end of the week or early the following week, but when Tuesday rolled around, I hadn’t heard anything. I reached out to the recruiter for an update, and after a couple of days without a response, I finally got an email back that left me shocked. The tone was unprofessional and blunt, revealing that I was not their first choice and they were waiting to hear back from the top candidate. I can't help but feel that this kind of communication is unacceptable. Has anyone else experienced something similar? It feels frustrating to be treated this way during the job search process.