> because I was a "close" candidate, I don't feel guilty about wasting their time.
Fuck that mindset. They're being paid to interview you, and you're (likely) unemployed. If anyone should feel guilty, it's the recruiters wasting your time making you jump through the many pointless hoops common in tech interviews today, and ultimately hiring someone else based on what is likely arbitrary reasoning (because in general, most people are lazy/bad at their jobs. Especially recruiters.)
Fuck that mindset. They're being paid to interview you, and you're (likely) unemployed. If anyone should feel guilty, it's the recruiters wasting your time making you jump through the many pointless hoops common in tech interviews today, and ultimately hiring someone else based on what is likely arbitrary reasoning (because in general, most people are lazy/bad at their jobs. Especially recruiters.)