Plaid Software Engineer interview with an opaque new-grad-style loop

I went through a new-grad-style loop that felt oddly opaque. It started with an OA, followed by a phone screen and then a voice interview. The bar was hard to read because I wasn't getting consistent signals about what would count.

During the phone step, the code I submitted wasn't even fully functional, yet I still moved forward. By the voice interview, my code and explanations felt solid. I didn't think I had made any mistakes, including verbally. I still ended up rejected, and that mismatch between how the interview felt and the final decision stayed with me the most.

Location: United States. Overall feedback: Negative. Offer status: No offer.