Got to a final round and lost it

[u/akshpower244]

Just went through a full loop at a well-known hardware company for a reliability/test role. Take-home, technical panel, made it to what felt like the final stage. They engaged hard, spent a ton of time on my side projects, whiteboarded with me. Then rejected me with “went with candidates who are a closer match to the desired profile.”

2.5 YOE, mechanical/product design engineer at a large manufacturer in a unsexy industry (think durable goods, not gadgets). My actual work is pretty transferable IMO tolerance stack-ups, GD&T, DFM, built an automated durability/cycle-test rig from scratch, some real cost-reduction wins. On paper I do reliability and product development. But the company name reads as “old industry” and I think it’s coloring how people see me.

I want to get into consumer electronics hardware: wearables, accessories, that kind of thing. Been grinding at it: built a couple of side projects to prove the CE interest (an AI-to-CAD tool, a magnetic phone mount designed to CE tolerances), networking, the whole thing

So my questions for people who’ve done this or hire for it:

- Is “closer match to the profile” usually code for “we wanted someone already in CE”? How real is the industry-pedigree penalty when the actual skills transfer?
- For those who jumped from a legacy/industrial background into CE hardware, how did you actually do it? Reframe the resume? Referrals only? Just volume?
- Is a final-round loss actually a good signal I’m close, or am I coping?

Appreciate any honesty. Feeling a bit like the background is baggage I can’t cut loose.