> I probably sound arrogant, but I'm not. I'm smart enough to decode this shitty aspect of human nature for what it is. Your post does sound a bit arrogant and

> I probably sound arrogant, but I'm not. I'm smart enough to decode this shitty aspect of human nature for what it is. Your post does sound a bit arrogant and that's OK. A bit of arrogance is so common it shouldn't discount validity of your post per se. I think getting an answer to your original "Why?" question may be difficult because: 1) I don't think many tech interviewers do what you experienced at these two examples 2) To the extent such practices happen and as smart as you may be, I don't think your "decoding" of things is broadly accurate. I say this because "they tell the owner I'm junior to them, which is 100% untrue" is a ridiculous statement. First, it's odd to see the word "owner" when talking about startups which usually have "founders", so what kind of startups were these 2 places? Also how do you know what they said? And how do you know it's "100% untrue" that you are junior to them, as in how many questions did you get to ask about their tech skills and what does "junior" mean to you? In terms of an answer: Your post shows a lot of assumptions that miss the point of technical interviews and what they look for. Things like "stupid ass tech trivia" have to be asked. Granted, sometimes too many basics do get asked. There is difference between "junior" from a technical skills perspective and "junior" on an org chart. Unless someone is hiring to fill the position above them on the org chart (it happens) then you are likely "junior" to the person hiring you. However, from a technical skills perspective, or what some interviewer may or may not have told their boss about you being junior...who cares what they said, you got the offer no? and once you start working there the people with superior skills will be able to stand out, 100% regardless of what was said months ago after an interview. So I would suggest: stop assuming incorrectly, think like a manager, read up about emotional quotient (EQ) in hiring, accept that life isn't "fair" and neither is interviewing. Best of luck sir or madame.