I'm doing some technical interviews for a position at my employer's main office.
After a phone interview, and an intro by a VP or higher in IT, we usually subject the interviewee to an open panel question session by the 3-4 of the most senior technical people in the subject matter area.
Today we had a candidate who shone on the phone interview but failed miserably in the face to face. Not just nervousness, but complete lack of knowledge.
Since I did the phone interview with another senior person, I'm assuming it was because the candidate was looking up answers during the phone interview on their computer.
My question is this: If someone misrepresents their capabilities during a phone interview, and during the FTF it turns out they are 0% qualified for the position within 5 minutes, how long are you obliged to keep interviewing them? I had four pages of questions to ask but after a minute in I knew the person could not answer any of them.
My coworkers kept asking very general and non-technical questions for 30 minutes to be polite.
If I was in the interviewee's position I'd like to know I was not in the running and go home. Then again I wouldn't misrepresent my abilities either. Embellish, maybe, but not make stuff up.
Kick them to the curb after 5 minutes or keep interviewing for politeness?