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I swear it was different
The Mandela Effect: a type of false memory that occurs when many different people incorrectly remember the same thing.
In the 1980s, a lot of people thought that Nelson Mandela died in prison. (He lived until 2013.)
Darth Vader never said “Luke, I am your father.” Mr. Monopoly never wore a monocle. The comedian Sinbad never starred in a movie called Shazaam. And it’s the Berenstain Bears, not the Berenstein Bears.
So when Jeff Smith and I were prepping for our last 10 Minute Talent Rant (ep 78 “Interview Feedback Is Dead”) I worried I fell into the same trap.
OG recruiters: we used to take rejection feedback back to candidates, address it, and sometimes have the hiring managers reconsider, right? That was a thing?
I swear that was real. But maybe I’ve been Mandela’d.
Doesn’t matter. Fear of litigation continues to drive meaningful feedback out of the interview process. All while forgetting a critical thing:
👉Interviews are an imperfect process.
If you’re reading this, you (or your company) made a bad hire at some point. Or worse, incorrectly passed on an A+ hire.
Humans are notoriously bad at evaluating risk. Companies are even worse.
Case in point: how many times has your company been sued by a job seeker? (For most of you, never.)
Compare that with how many hiring misses you’ve made. And the financial and productivity impact of those.
Maybe talking it out is a “safer” play. Just a thought.
Vader said “No, I am your father” by the way.
Full episode of The 10 Minute Talent Rant, ep 78 “Interview Feedback Is Dead” here.
Partner at Hirewell. #3 Ranked Sarcastic Commenter on LinkedIn.
Repeat after me: do not talk politics at work. Or on LinkedIn.
Or in job interviews. Or on first dates. Or at Thanksgiving dinner.
Unfortunately for those of us in the business world, 2025 ruined it. There’s just no way around the fact that tariffs are the issue driving the business climate right now. Every client, candidate, and partner is asking about it—or struggling because of it.
So maybe, just maybe, talking policy isn’t just okay—it’s necessary. Dare I say, productive.
So get ready for a little nuance from Jeff Smith and James Hornick in The 10 Minute Talent Rant, Episode 107, “Talk Policy, Not Politics”
Episode 107