I completed an online coding assessment, and the following week, a recruiter called to inform me I had passed. She mentioned they would soon share availability for the next steps. However, despite this confirmation, I never heard from her again. I sent a polite follow-up email asking when I might expect the next steps, but she ignored it, leaving me feeling dismissed. It’s possible that during my interview process, other, more “powerful” candidates applied—perhaps with more years of specific experience, backgrounds from larger companies, or who don’t face the same biases that women developers encounter in engineering roles. Whatever the reason, the sudden lack of communication, even after successfully passing the assessment, has left me questioning Lloyds Bank's hiring process and professionalism in handling candidate relations.