The worst job interview I ever had

4 hours ago

The author describes their worst job interview not as a failure of technical skills but as an unsolicited psych evaluation.
The interview was for a founding engineer role at a mental health startup aiming to improve therapy access for at-risk youth.
The format was a 90-minute culture fit chat with no technical assessment, focusing on deeply personal topics like the hardest day of the author's life.
The author felt pressured to share traumatic personal experiences, including failed relationships and family struggles, leaving them emotionally drained.
After receiving a one-line rejection email, the author felt shame, anger, and confusion, perceiving the rejection as personal rather than professional.
The author emphasizes the importance of culture fit but criticizes invasive methods that make candidates vulnerable during hiring processes.
They advocate for founders and hiring managers to reconsider how they evaluate cultural fit without exploiting candidates' personal traumas.

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