Believe me, that thought has crossed my mind. After the HR interview, where I found out the job wasn't at all what I expected or wanted, I was actually sort of

Believe me, that thought has crossed my mind. After the HR interview, where I found out the job wasn't at all what I expected or wanted, I was actually sort of depressed at the thought of taking it. I eventually settled into the idea that I therefore had nothing to lose - either I got the job and had cashflow again, or I didn't get the job and didn't have to move to a city (town, really) I didn't want to me in, doing a job I didn't want. To that end, I decided that I wasn't even going to bother preparing for the interview, and I'd just wing it and see what happened (this was likely a defense mechanism - if I don't bother to even prepare, then it doesn't reflect on me if I do poorly / don't get the job). Feeling how I do about the interview, if I don't get the offer then it doesn't hurt my ego since I can be reasonably sure they passed on me for the exact reasons you described. That said, I did try to do some preemptive damage control. I asked about opportunities for advancement in the company, expressed an interest in the certifications they mentioned, etc. In the HR interview, when asked whether I could be happy in a testing role, coming from development, I explained that I had enjoyed the bits of testing experience I had as part of my last job, that I wouldn't mind a break from development at the very least, and that any development itches I had could be scratched by my side project. Incidentally, this also opened the topic of intellectual property and all that, and she said that there were established procedures for that, and that it wouldn't be an issue. So whatever happens, I'm ok with it.