This definitely resonates with me as someone occasionally involved in the interview process from the other side. In my experience the scariest bits of "hidden c

This definitely resonates with me as someone occasionally involved in the interview process from the other side. In my experience the scariest bits of "hidden criteria" are brought up under the umbrella of culture fit. Candidates are posed a minefield of completely non-technical-related open-ended questions, with the consequence that the interviewer is free to draw practically any conclusions they want about the candidate's personality and compatibility with the company. These lines of questioning are impressive to recount, as if the interviewer is a clairvoyant with exceptional powers of insight into the candidate's soul. However, I'm skeptical that this process is any better than random at selecting people who would turn out to be valued, effective engineers. It seems to me that, unless there are glaring issues with arrogance/stubbornness/misanthropy, technical chops and engineering skill are what you should optimize for, not personality. I've heard of "objective" interviews based on a rubric with a set number of points for each question and little room for interpretation. I wonder how that works out. I feel like even if it's pretty bad, the interview is so completely terrible and broken right now that it might be an improvement.