Interviewing for a new job is stressful as hell. It’s basically like taking an exam, except the results might well determine whether you make rent next month. So it doesn’t really matter how much the interviewer assures you that we’re just having a “friendly, no-pressure chat”.
First of all, any “chat” that determines the future livelihood of someone is never going to be “no pressure”. And pretending that it is just makes it even higher pressure! Not only does someone need to appear calm, collected, and capable, now they also have to be cool as a cat, because, hey, this is just a no pressure chat, right? Ugh.
Second of all, that’s the minor point. The major point is that you’re a fucking barbarian schmuck if you place this theater inside a public coffee shop for all the other patrons to spectate. I mean, what the fuck.
Who on earth would want to have an audience overhearing their nervous stumbles, awkward excursions, and embarrassing answers to “tell me about a time where you failed…”. Nobody, that’s who wants an audience for that. NOBODY.
So please stop doing that. Not just for the sake of the poor applicants who have to configure a friendly face in spite of their anxiety, but also for everyone else at the coffee shop who’d like to enjoy their mocha without being forced to overhear this cruel practice. Stop. It.
