(1)
A friend of mine forwarded me a LinkedIn message from a recruiter who was advertising a role in medical education. I messaged the recruiter seeking clarifications regarding qualifications and experience and was told that a medical degree / clinical experience wasn't required. The recruiter liked my CV and scheduled a call for the following day. She also told me who the client was and I found the job ad on their website.

(2)
The job ad said that the applicants were required to have a degree in medical education and background in health care. However, during the call, the recruiter insisted that a Master's degree in Education and work experience are more than sufficient and that I am a very strong candidate. I asked if she needed a cover letter and she asked to write a brief one, as she needed to send things off as soon as possible.

(3)
This morning, she called and said that my application was rejected with no feedback provided. She said she could not reach the Hiring Manager as they were in and out of meetings.
When I asked if this was because of me not being exactly qualified, she dismissed my concerns.
I was quite upset, as she got my hopes up. Things at work aren't great, and I dared to think that maybe...
So I emailed the employer directly, asking very politely if their time was wasted on my application.

(4)
And guess what, the Hiring Manager is on leave until Thursday next week, and the rest of the team were unable to locate any correspondence with the recruiter that mentioned me.

So I got back to the recruiter to check if the person she was supposedly liaising with is that hiring manager on leave. I simply asked for a name. The recruiter got borderline aggressive and demonstrated an exceptional ability to gaslight. I had to ask her to delete my details and blocked her.