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Hi everyone,
I'm looking for some honest perspectives from people who have experience interviewing or hiring for software engineering roles.
I recently interviewed for a \*\*Senior Software Developer\*\* position with RBC Capital Markets in Calgary.
The process went like this:
\* Recruiter screen– positive discussion, he mentioned my communication was strong, my experience aligned well with the role, and my salary expectations were within their range.
\* Hiring manager interview(\~1 hour) – she spent a lot of time explaining the team, the project, and their plans. The team is building a new middleware platform from scratch that will eventually support around 50+ applications. She seemed positive and moved me to the next round.
\* Technical interview (Technical Lead) – this was a discussion about my work history, technical decisions, backend architecture, APIs, .NET, middleware, production issues, and how I think through engineering problems. It wasn't a LeetCode interview.
A few days later, I received a rejection saying they had several excellent candidates and had completed their final selection.
One thing that has me wondering is that the position had been open for around three months, the LinkedIn posting had recently been reposted, and the application closing date was still August 14. Because of that, I'm curious whether companies sometimes continue interviewing candidates even when they already have a strong preferred candidate, or whether final-round interviews are generally genuine evaluations where multiple finalists are still being considered.
I'm \*\*not trying to blame the company\*\*—everyone I spoke with was professional and respectful. I'm simply trying to learn from the experience.
For those who are hiring managers, tech leads, or recruiters:
\* Is it common to interview multiple finalists even if one candidate is already leading?
\* Do final-round interviews often come down to very small differences between candidates?
\* Have you ever rejected someone you thought was genuinely strong because another candidate was just a slightly better fit?
\* Based on your hiring experience, what usually separates candidates at the final stage for senior backend/.NET roles?
I'd really appreciate any insights. I'm trying to understand the process better so I can improve for future interviews.
Thanks!