Hey, Interviewers... Do You Know You're Being Interviewed Too?

Imagine you’re a hiring manager, deep in the trenches of LinkedIn, painstakingly combing through profiles. You’ve finally found the candidate—the one whose resume reads like a dream and whose experience practically yells, “Hire me, and your problems are solved!” You’ve crafted a plan to lure them in, complete with promises of a “competitive” salary and “flexible” work hours. But here’s the twist you didn’t see coming: Your top-tier interviewer, the one you trust to charm this candidate into a yes, is about to get interviewed right back.

Welcome to the new normal, where the person asking the questions is also being silently judged, rated, and possibly found wanting. It’s like “American Idol” for the corporate world, and let’s be real—most of your interviewers probably aren’t even Simon Cowell material. No, they’re more like William Hung , giving it their best shot but missing the mark in spectacular fashion. What you thought was a one-sided interrogation is about to become a two-way street... and your interviewer might not be as prepared as they think.

The God Complex: When Your Interviewer Thinks They’re Zeus, But They’re Really a Mortal

We’ve all encountered that interviewer—the one who breezes into the room with the confidence of someone who’s just been handed the keys to Mount Olympus. Their suit is perfectly pressed, their smirk is permanently affixed, and they carry an aura that suggests they’ve been bestowed with divine authority over the hiring process. This is the kind of interviewer who genuinely believes they’re there to pass judgment from on high, asking questions like, “Why do you want to work for us?” as if the mere thought of joining their company should send candidates into fits of gratitude.

While they’re busy trying to ascertain whether the candidate’s GPA from five years ago is a reliable indicator of their future performance, the candidate is quietly assessing them right back. And the candidate is not impressed. That condescending tone? It’s a dead giveaway that this interviewer probably peaked in high school, right around the time they were voted “Most Likely to Wear a Power Suit.”

Let’s face it, many interviewers are under the illusion that the interview is a one-way street where they’re the sole arbiters of who’s worthy and who’s not. They scrutinize every line on a resume as if they’re searching for the Holy Grail of employee potential. Yet, what they fail to realize is that their charm, or more often, their complete lack thereof, is being evaluated just as much as the candidate’s qualifications.

Candidates are leaving those interviews with mental notes, and it’s not just about the job. That air of superiority? Points deducted. That refusal to make eye contact? A big red flag. So the next time your interviewer throws out the classic, “Sell yourself to us,” you might want to remind them that they’re on the market too. The real question is, are they worth the price? Because if they think dropping the word “synergy” unironically is the ticket to landing top talent, they might be in for a rude awakening.

The Unprepared Interviewer: “Wait, Who Are You Again?”

We get it—your company is busy. You’ve got deliverables piling up, meetings that could’ve been emails, and a boss who’s more concerned with Q3 numbers than with your sanity. But let’s not pretend that strolling into an interview without so much as glancing at the candidate’s resume is anything short of a disaster. The unprepared interviewer is the corporate equivalent of that kid who didn’t do their homework and is now trying to bluff their way through an oral exam. Everyone in the room can see right through it.

The scene usually unfolds like this: The interviewer greets the candidate with a confidence that would be impressive—if only they weren’t about to call them by the wrong name for the first five minutes. The candidate watches in thinly veiled amusement as the interviewer shuffles through papers, desperately trying to remember who they’re talking to, all the while mumbling something about how they’ve had “a lot on their plate.” The panic is palpable, and the only thing more awkward than this is the inevitable fallback to that age-old stalling tactic: “So, tell me about yourself.” Translation: “Please, talk for as long as possible while I frantically try to figure out why you’re here.”

When your LinkedIn profile is just a click away, this level of unpreparedness isn’t just laughable—it’s borderline insulting. Candidates are left wondering, “If this person can’t be bothered to spend five minutes learning about me now, what does that say about how they’ll treat me as an employee?” It’s a glaring red flag that screams, “We don’t actually care about you,” and it’s enough to make any self-respecting candidate run for the hills.

So here’s a thought: If your interviewer can’t find the time to prepare, maybe they should skip the interview altogether and send that rejection email in advance. After all, nothing says “We value our candidates” like wasting their time on an interview you didn’t bother to prepare for.

The Interrogation Room: When Interviews Turn Into Inquisitions

At some point in corporate history, someone must have binged one too many episodes of Law & Order and decided that the best way to evaluate candidates was by turning the interview into a full-blown interrogation. Forget the friendly chat or the casual conversation—this is about grilling the candidate until they sweat. The questions fly at them: “Where do you see yourself in five years?” (Translation: “Are you going to bail on us the moment a better offer comes along?”), “What’s your biggest weakness?” (Translation: “Give us a reason to doubt you”), and the pièce de résistance, “Why should we hire you?” (Translation: “Justify why we should pay you to sit at our desk and drink our coffee.”)

This approach operates on the assumption that candidates are guilty until proven innocent—that every resume hides a deep, dark secret that only a ruthless interrogation can uncover. But, candidates have caught on, and they’re not interested in playing along. After all, they’ve read enough self-help books to know how to turn any “weakness” into a so-called strength, and they’re increasingly unimpressed by the company’s attempt to disguise itself as the next Google, all while offering perks that barely rival a mom-and-pop startup.

As the inquisition drags on, candidates are silently assessing whether they want to spend the next few years of their life in an environment that mistakes relentless pressure for productivity. They’re not looking to join a team that values intimidation over collaboration. They want a partnership, not an inquisition, and if your interviewers can’t tell the difference, they might be sending your top talent running for the nearest exit.

So before your interviewer asks another loaded question like, “Tell me about a time you failed,” maybe it’s time to ask yourself if this approach is really working. Because while your team is busy playing detective, the best candidates are quietly deciding they don’t want to be on the witness stand—they want to be somewhere that values their potential, not just their ability to survive an interrogation.

The Culture Champion: A Friendly Reminder That Your “Cool” Office Isn’t All That Cool

The culture champion—the chosen one tasked with the noble mission of selling the company’s “unique” culture. Armed with buzzwords and an enthusiastic grin, they’ll regale you with tales of the open-plan office, the foosball table that’s gathering dust, and the endless supply of free snacks. They’ll wax lyrical about the “inclusive” environment where everyone’s voice matters, except, of course, when it comes time for actual decisions, which are mysteriously always made by the CEO’s nephew who just graduated from college with a degree in “knowing the right people.”

But here’s where the culture champion’s pitch starts to unravel: Candidates have evolved. They’re no longer wooed by the presence of artisanal kombucha in the breakroom or the promise of casual Fridays. They’ve heard it all before—the ping-pong tables, the bean bags, the “family” environment that expects them to sacrifice their evenings, weekends, and sanity in the name of “team spirit.”

What your culture champion doesn’t realize is that candidates are mentally doing the math. They’re calculating the real cost of those shiny office perks against their own well-being. So when the interviewer starts talking about the latest team-building retreat, complete with trust falls and forced fun, the candidate isn’t thinking, “Wow, what a great place to work!” They’re thinking, “Do I really want to spend my time pretending to bond with the guy who forgot my name five minutes ago?”

Candidates are getting wise to the gap between the rosy picture painted in interviews and the reality of life in the cubicle trenches. When the culture champion’s spiel starts to sound more like a desperate sales pitch than a genuine description of workplace happiness, candidates are already planning their polite exit strategy. They know that behind every promise of a “cool” office culture, there’s often a mountain of unspoken expectations, late nights, and a serious lack of actual coolness.

So, while your culture champion might believe they’re presenting an irresistible offer, candidates are increasingly skeptical. They’re not just looking for a job—they’re looking for a place where the reality matches the hype. And if your office culture can’t live up to its own press, don’t be surprised when the best candidates walk out with a smile—and never look back.

So here we are, wrapping up this little expedition through the wilds of interviewer mishaps. We’ve chuckled, we’ve winced, and perhaps we’ve even recognized a few of our own less-than-stellar moments along the way. The takeaway? The modern interview isn’t a one-way interrogation—it’s a two-way street, and, surprise, interviewers are being judged just as much as the candidates.

In today’s job market your candidates hold the cards. If your interviewers are still marching into those meetings with the same recycled questions and an air of untouchable authority, it’s time for a serious reality check. The days of “winging it” are over—what works for a spontaneous night out does not translate to the world of talent acquisition.

A great candidate can spot a mediocre interviewer long before the first awkward handshake, and trust me, they won’t stick around to see if things improve. So, take a long, hard look in the mirror and ask yourself: Are your interviewers truly prepared to represent your company? If not, it’s time to invest in some serious training—or risk watching the talent you desperately need walk right out the door.