Got a screening interview today, which turned out to be a zoom meeting between myself, an interviewer, and three other candidates. Not surprisingly, I was informed by email a few hours later that I didn’t make the cut, and even though I didn’t really want the job (it was for a vaguely-described PR firm and seemed a bit dodgy), I find myself annoyed that I couldn’t fake enough confidence and pleasantries to make it past the first-round interview. Two of the other candidates had a marketing background and knew all the right buzzwords, and everybody but me said they saw themselves as reaching a management position within the next five years. I don’t want to be a manager, I know I wouldn’t be good at it; you’d think companies would want at least one person who just wants to do what they’re good at, instead of jockeying for a position which is a set of very specific tasks, not a reward for good behaviour.