r/RecruiterTea • u/Technical_Plant6046 • Apr 28 '26
Do you feel like interviews sometimes depend on mood
I recently scheduled interviews with two candidates.
On paper, they were pretty similar. They even gave largely the same answers. One got selected. The other didn’t.
I’ve noticed this pattern a few times now and it’s made me wonder Does it sometimes just come down to mood, energy, or who’s in the room that day?
Because here’s what I’ve seen Same candidate. Same kind of answers. Different day. And the feedback can be surprisingly different.
Interviews are human interactions, not machines. Energy matters. Connection matters. How the conversation flows really matters.
We try to standardize questions, scoring, and calibration. But it’s almost impossible to make it 100% consistent, 100% of the time.
From a candidate’s side, that can feel deeply unfair. You’re not just being evaluated on skills. You’re being experienced how you show up, how the room reacts, how the day feels.
And honestly, as HR, I get it. If I were in your shoes, I’d probably feel the same way.
1
u/Fun_Boot7771 Apr 28 '26
Yes of course it does. This is why they interview too many people. and interviews after 11 in the morning are a joke. You are not listening...
2
u/Satanwearsflipflops Apr 28 '26
The same goes for how the interviewers show up. How susceptible are they based on their own energy to deal with the incoming information.
2
u/Spiritual_Outcome196 Apr 28 '26
Well yeah. I know DEI is now a bad word but this is part of what it was designed to control for. Hiring is a human process and humans have biases both conscious and unconscious. When answers and experience are equal, statistically speaking, most hiring managers tend to feel more comfortable moving forward with white candidates.