Application after application, the clock ticks, and you finally get the interview. You’re excited; you research the organization, and when the day comes, you’re prepared to discuss the company, the role, and how you can be the key that unlocks what’s hidden behind the door. Then, it falls completely flat.

In my experience, the interview is often where the biggest disappointment comes. Looking for a job is hard, getting an interview is hard, and the moments leading up to it are filled with angst. As applicants, we all want to feel wanted by the place we end up working; we want to be shown a little love in the process. It has to matter.

I can think of multiple interviews I was excited for, only to be met with a series of generic questions that felt more like a checklist than a conversation. This experience left me questioning why the interviewer hadn’t invested the same level of effort. It is dejecting because it felt like it didn’t really matter and, as slow as the process can be, it’s a huge waste of time.

These surface-level questions don’t allow either side to get the necessary information to make an informed decision. At its core, an interview should help someone on either side make an informed decision.

For me, the letdown that comes from a mediocre interview isn’t rooted in what I could have done better; it’s more about asking, why didn’t they try harder? Interviews are a two-way path in 2024. We, as applicants, spend all this time making our resume look impressive, only to have it willfully ignored during the process.

As an organization, those conducting interviews are the first presentation that any applicant will see. It’s not just about collecting people; it is about sharing a vision of a puzzle and how they could be one of the missing pieces to it. People need to work, but people want to have an experience. The way interviews are being conducted not only deprives applicants of that, but it’s also having tangible effects on turnover.

There is no right way to interview, but there are many wrong ways, and it starts with what you are projecting. You shouldn’t give a sales pitch; you should lay out a road map, a vision for success for both the organization and the employee. Asking open-ended questions that invite candidates to share their experiences and aspirations can provide deeper insights than a standard list of questions.

People tend to avoid hard things. Conducting an interview, evaluating, and ultimately making a decision is not easy. In the world of personnel, it shouldn’t be easy. These decisions are impactful on an organization, and the less you put into it, the harder it will be to get the right people for your organization.