3 rounds first round - hr screening call second round - f2f interview - 2 people from within th biz third round - presentation - the set you a task to do

I was approached on LinkedIn and asked to apply with a CV. I got through to the final stage but was not given an offer. The first interview was with two team members, one of whom was super enthusiastic and welcoming. They did a great job of explaining the role and the team's position within the company, and spoke highly of the working culture there. The potential line manager was pretty quiet in this one. They were newer to the company, but it was hard going to build rapport. I asked for a salary range and there was a lot of back and forth over email before I was given one. It was lower than I would have expected for this title – £35k max, which is what I made as an assistant editor at a comparable title. The next stage involved producing an in-depth pitch for a commercial report. Time was not reimbursed for this, and it's always highly suspect when a content company asks you to provide creative consultancy work for free. The final interview was a multi-person panel. You are asked to submit the pitches beforehand but there was no indication anyone had read it. The format was being asked to present the pitches and explain your creative process for each feature idea. There were some questions at the end but they were fairly generic. I got a canned rejection saying they went with someone with more specific experience and good wishes on my job search (never mind I wasn't searching, they approached me). No feedback on the pitch, which left me feeling it had been a bit of a fishing exercise for content ideas.