I have a similar experience. I do my homework, write a brief but specific and relevant intro letter, all together probably takes half an hour at least. Never he

I have a similar experience. I do my homework, write a brief but specific and relevant intro letter, all together probably takes half an hour at least. Never hear back, not even a rejection email. This has been my experience with 10+ applications. I got a phone interview after one application and had the exact experience as your #2 - asked to do challenge, they hired someone immediately after giving me the challenge but didn't tell me. Wasted a weekend working on it.