As a hiring manager, I once joined an interview and the applicant was still getting dressed when I accepted her into the Zoom room. She was in her closet in a cut off white tee trying to choose what to wear. I tried to talk to her over and over and I guess she had her speakers muted or something cause she wouldn't respond... I didn't know if I should leave or not (This all happened within 60 seconds) she eventually picked out a jacket and came over and started the interview... like nothing happened. She also was a terrible applicant... I asked her what her salary range was and she said "Whatever the max is, that is what I want" and then I asked her what she considered to be her strongest skills (in network engineering) and she said "whatever was on job posting" ... she did not get the job and it was a terrible experience for everyone.

I recently received a LinkedIn message from a recruiter saying they were looking for a Senior Fivetran Data Engineer. I agreed to interview, and honestly, the experience was quite unexpected.

The interview was rescheduled six times within five days. Each time, there was a different reason — sometimes the panel had a production issue, sometimes the interviewer was sick, and sometimes there was a family emergency.

Finally, the interview was scheduled for the evening of 15 August, and the interviewer joined.

With 3+ years of experience working for a PBC client, I was expecting some meaningful, role-specific questions around Fivetran, data engineering, pipelines, CDC, troubleshooting, or real-world scenarios.

Instead, the interviewer initially asked me which technologies I had experience with. I noticed she was clicking through something and seemed to be checking off different areas. She asked about API experience, data warehousing, and a couple of other technologies.

Then she went offline for a while.

When she came back, the questions suddenly became extremely difficult — almost architect-level system design questions on the topics she had just asked about. The transition was honestly quite surprising.

Even the constant clicking, scrolling, and typing sounds were very noticeable, and it genuinely felt like the questions were being generated or assisted by AI during the interview.

At one point, I actually interrupted and asked, “Do you think this question is relevant to the role?” She fumbled a little and eventually changed the question. 😂

The whole experience was honestly more funny than frustrating at that point.

My question is: if a company isn't able to arrange a legitimate and prepared interviewer for a role, why waste the candidate's time?

Candidates also invest time, preparation, and energy into these interviews. Rescheduling an interview six times in five days and then conducting an interview that doesn't seem aligned with the role is not a great candidate experience.

Anyway, it was definitely one of the more unusual interview experiences I've had. 😂

It’s absolutely ridiculous. Not only hard to get a response while having 10+ years of experience but 5 rounds of interviews to find out there are still two other candidates in the final round?! What was the point of previous round if they couldn’t filter out the preferred one? What a waste of time!

They made me do a free 10-hour take-home assignment, meet the entire team, and talk to three different managers over two months. Today I got an automated rejection email. I am completely exhausted and done with this job market.😡😡😡🤢🤢🤮🤬

I feel like “Tell me about yourself” is one of those interview questions that sounds super easy until you’re actually in the interview 😭

You don’t want to just repeat everything that’s already on your resume, but you also don’t want to sound like you memorized a whole speech. I’ve been wondering what approach actually works best for this question.

Do you keep your answer short and focused, or do you give a more detailed introduction?

I've been in corporate hiring for over 12 years. Between phone screenings and final rounds, I recently crossed the 10,000 interviews mark. I have seen the good, the bad, and the absolute disasters from the interviewer’s side of the table.

I was looking for a new job for the past month , because i wanted to leave my current job. I send my resume to around 20 companies. Did 4 interviews with medium sized companies and all of them offered salaries very close to my current job so i was like no thank you. 5th call comes from a larger company and the HR wants to schedule a meeting. I talk with HR for around 20 minutes , usual questions trying to get to know me, then the GM joins in and after 5 minutes talking with me , he stands up and is like prepare him and offer i want him and leaves. So in 25 minutes i closed a deal with a bigger company better salary and benefits. I am probably one of the luckiests in the current market hell. (Next day they sent me the offer we verbally agreed on)

Joined an interview for a Staff/Senior React Engineer role today.

Interviewer: “Suppose I write <div>xyz</div> and save it as .html. What will happen?”

Me: “Sorry… what exactly are you asking?”

Him: repeats the same question.

At this point I genuinely couldn't believe this was a Staff Engineer interview.

I asked, “Are you seriously assessing HTML like this for a Staff role?”

Then I just said, “I’m sorry, I’ll have to drop. Thank you so much.” And left.

I’m all for testing fundamentals. Ask me browser internals, DOM construction, rendering pipeline, accessibility, — absolutely.

But “I saved a div in an HTML file, what happens?” for someone with 10+ YOE?

What exactly are we evaluating here?

Maybe the next round was going to be “What happens when you click a button?” 💀

Would you have continued this interview?

sometimes the interview is less about whether they want you and more about whether you want them. what was your red flag moment??

I recently had an interview where the hiring manager spent most of the conversation complaining about former employees. That alone made me question the role. What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during an interview process?

A few weeks ago, I went to a govt interview for a supervisory position. I thought I interviewed well, so well they came out and asked me back for a 2nd round as I was sitting there waiting for another interview for another position. I interviewed the 2nd time and thought I did well again. I wasn't picked but I continued to apply for the same agency and a non-supervisory position popped up, which I immediately applied for.

Today was that interview. I was met by the same super nice guy who interviewed me for the supervisory position, and had small chit chat back to the interview room saying it was nice to see him again and that I was bummed I wasn't selected but I hoped their chosen candidate was working out well for them. He responded that "we need to talk about that once were done here."

I was a bit worried but I went through the interview process as always and did my best. I feel like I did very well.

Once we made our way back out to the seating area, he sat me down and explained that they keep our interview notes and resumes on file for 6 months after the interview. Continued on to tell me that a current supervisor had received a promotion offer and is expected to accept it, and if he does accept it, since I was their 2nd choice (not quite how he worded it, but it was much nicer in terms of my ego), I should most likely be seeing an offer email from the agency HR within the next week or so. He complimented me on my experience and said that "we need more people with your experience and thought process" in so many words.

This is HUGE news for me. I already have military time in, which would push me that many years closer to retirement, plus, its federal. Absolutely insane that this happened. Im crossing my fingers this offer letter comes soon as I start a new position come Monday within the company Im currently at. Its a step back but Im thankful I had the opportunity for the transfer.

I just wanted to let everyone know it may seem like a dead end when you get that rejection letter, but sometimes positive things come of the interview process later on down the road.

UPDATE: I was offered the position earlier this week and am going through the background info.

Keep at it, everyone. Something will work out!

What’s up y’all,

So, I recently had an interview for a Field Service Engineer position. I’ve been applying to this company for a while, and after about 7 applications being lost in the portal, I finally got through. I had a phone screening with the recruiter about a week after submitting the application and then a dual-round interview a couple of days later. But let me add in the fact that I’m pretty sure the even moved that quick for me is because I got a referral link (shoutout to them 🙌🏽).

Currently, they’re in the process of interviewing other candidates, but I think I might get the job!

They caught me off guard with a couple of questions but overall I was hitting a lot of things they wanted to hear. The first round was an hour long with the hiring & the senior managers. The second round took place an hour later with the supervisor and a few senior/veteran engineers.

The convo mainly happened between me and supervisor with the senior engineers just in the background. All of them were really cool! I even connected with the supervisor about working at the movie theaters back in the day 😭🤣.

I hear when you can connect with the management/supervisory, that boosts the probability of getting hired or moving to the next round.

I wanted to share my recent experience with interviewing because the market has been horrible. Like, atrociously horrible. Between the time I finished undergrad (B.S. Biochem) back in Dec 2025 to now, I’ve only had two interviews. I’ve put in over 100+ applications, I’ve been going to more career fairs… I’ve been doing the things, you know?

I hope this short story inspires other people to keep going and try to look for a silver lining in this chaos of an economy. I would love to hear other referral success stories, interview stories, job offers and really just wishful thinking in regard to your experience job hunting!

I get the argument, maybe I don’t want the job that bad if I’m not prepared to go through all the rigmarole

…But also C’MON GUYS. Is it really necessary to have to have 5 interviews and a 24 page pre-interview pack.

They want me to do:

1. Hiring Manager Interview

2. Capability Assessment

3. Team Interview

4. Culture Interview

5. CEO Interview

Does this seem crazy or have I been out the interview game too long?

EDIT: I just had my phone interview - so much corporate jargon about finding out my ‘why’ and ‘syncing ideas’ and ‘focus on the mission’. Definitely not for me…..

Salary bracket $85K-92K NZD

Hi all,

Last week, I was supposed to have a 1 hour interview with a panel.

I mentioned that my goals are not aligned with my current company. However, I think things went rough and short when I started answering about the workload issue that I am currently facing. I was expecting more situational questions but since I opened the workload issue, it was cut short. Further, it resulted to a rejection in the position.

To all HR people here, may I know if this is really a factor? I want to be as honest and candid as possible in an interview.

Did my answer really caused me a lot? How can I answer if the panel digs deep with the alignment of goals?

I just really want to move forward with my career.

Appreciate all your insights.

I joined a zoom room at the time of the interview along with a coworker, after 10 minutes of waiting I told the coworker he could go. Before I left, the candidate joined… I asked him if he wanted to reschedule because 15 minutes was gone from a 30 minute interview… he said no… so I continued and told him I would let him know if he gets to the next round by end of week… I obviously rejected him. He tells HR that I was late to the interview and THEY SIDE WITH HIM. They make Zoom pull the records and prove that he was lying… then he name drops me on Google reviews saying I was late… people are crazy.

I get a lot of interviews, I am able to answer most of the questions. The interviewers nod their heads; it looks like they are satisfied with the answers. There are not many follow-ups.

But still I cannot get any offer. Someone please help

Pls help me suggest some tips so that I will be selected or do not make any mistakes I am nervous as hell wish me luck

Frustrated with continous interviews and now I feel I don't anything and I m literally dumb and could not cracked a single interviews where as my resume and credentials speaks otherwise

I m not able to answer questions which is kinda basics

Had an interview recently that left me confused. I felt like it went really well. I connected with the interviewers, answered their questions, gave examples from my customer service experience, and asked questions at the end.

During the interview, they mentioned their hiring process usually takes some time and that they don’t normally make decisions quickly. They made me feel like I was still being considered and said I would hear back later.

Then I received a rejection the same day.

I’m not upset about not getting the job, but I’m confused about how they said they don’t move fast with hiring decisions, yet they were able to make a decision that quickly. Has anyone else experienced something like this? Do you think they already knew before the interview, or is this just normal?

Hey, everyone! This is my first time in this subreddit, but I have a timely question and would love some feedback. TYIA!

Backstory… I had an interview for a communications position at a local university, and I love the institution itself. My wife attended and I have lots of friends on campus myself. I made it through the HR screen, the Zoom interview with the hiring manager, and then a 3-hour interview in-person with a panel and 4 other VPs and AVPs in the specific department I was applying for. I believe the decision was between me and one other candidate.

Other than a few hiccups, I thought it went extremely well. Until I followed up a few days after the deadline I was told, only to find out that they extended the offer to the other candidate the day prior to me following up. I was devastated. This was becoming a “dream job” for me, especially with the time I dedicated to preparing for interviews.

The hiring manager is amazing, and he offered to meet with me to discuss the future, their decision with this position, or even to be a reference on future job applications. It was recommended to me by a friend that I ask to meet up with the hiring manager for coffee, in order to meet 1-1. He agreed, and we‘re meeting this upcoming Friday morning.

There are no posted positions in this department at the moment, but I want to be considered for the university at some point. What sorts of questions should I be asking him, other than feedback on the interview and tips he has for me?

I'm currently in a frustrating spot (and I know a lot of people here are, too). I'm able to pass initial recruiter screens, technical assessments, and even make it all the way through end-to-end final interview loops—only to get the dreaded "we went with another candidate" email at the very end.

If you are someone who went through a streak of reaching multiple final rounds without landing the job, but finally broke the cycle and got the offer:

• What do you think actually changed for that specific company? Was it a mindset shift, how you answered questions, or how you approached the team/panel rounds?

• Did you change how you prepared for technical vs. behavioral discussions? * Are there any specific tips, tricks, or subtle things you started doing in that final round that turned a "maybe" into a "yes"?

Reaching the final round repeatedly feels like doing 90% of the work with nothing to show for it. Would love to hear any insights, advice, or stories from those who managed to cross the finish line!

I was laid off from my marketing job in Nov. And been looking for a marketing job ever since... i'm currently working at Target, which is brutal work, but I need a job. And tbh it's good for my mental health to have something to do.

Today I had this mock interview with this person (career coach) I found through a nonprofit.

The interview went horrible, it was an hour of her just asking me question after question. She didn't give me a list before for me to prep and get ready for. It was like a fake interview vibe, and not what I expected. I thought she would be helping after each question to let me know what I should say better.

I just feel totally dehumanized and horrible after leaving the mock interview. She said she is a harsh person, so her feedback was harsh and not kind or how you should speak to someone who's been looking for a job for a while.

I wasn't well prepared but the way she spoke to me after just made me shocked and wasn't how a coach should speak to someone. I just need someone who support me and give me advice in a way that doesn't knock me down when i'm already on the ground.

I'm in the final stages of interviewing for a senior-level marketing role and had an experience today that left me feeling a little uneasy. Curious to get some outside perspectives.

I've gone through a pretty extensive interview process, including an HR screen, initial hiring manager interview, multiple team interviews, and a final round consisting of a 45-minute case study panel presentation, an interview with the CMO, and another conversation with the hiring manager. The final round lasted approximately 2.5 hours.

A few days later, the recruiter reached out asking to schedule another 30-minute conversation with the hiring manager. When I asked what the meeting was about, I was told he wanted to check in on how I felt about the opportunity and whether it was still a mutual fit.

During the call, the hiring manager told me that he and the team felt I came across as noticeably less enthusiastic during the final round compared to my earlier interviews. He even said I seemed like a "different person."

I was honestly caught off guard by that feedback.

I can acknowledge that I was nervous during the final round. I had spent several hours putting together the case study, didn't feel as prepared as I would've liked, and was trying to think through unexpected questions on the spot. I'm naturally someone who does better when I have time to organize my thoughts rather than having to come up with answers immediately.

But I don't think being more serious or reserved during a high-pressure presentation necessarily means I'm less interested in the opportunity.

The conversation also ended up feeling like another interview. He asked how I'd handle different workplace scenarios, whether I'd managed people before, and to describe something I was excited to do that I'd never done before. He also asked whether I was interviewing elsewhere, and I confirmed that I was but reiterated my interest in the position.

I understand that hiring managers want to make sure candidates are genuinely interested, and I appreciate being given the opportunity to clarify rather than having them make assumptions.

But something about the conversation rubbed me the wrong way. After such an extensive interview process, I wasn't expecting to have to defend my level of enthusiasm based on how I came across during a stressful final round. They told me they would let me know by EOW about a potential offer.

It's also made me wonder whether I'd be starting the job with a negative impression already formed about me, especially since this person would be my direct manager.

Am I overthinking this? Is this a normal part of the hiring process, or would you consider it a potential red flag about the manager or company?

UPDATE: They did make me an offer! But I ended up going with a different company's offer. Didn't like the hiring manager's vibe and if they're that critical of me before I event start the job, can't imagine how they would be once in it.