I’ve had my share of hell interviews.

I think the worst was for a production position with a popular PBS series. I was seated at a large round table with two women, the head of the unit and the person whose job I would fill after her promotion. I attempted to share my eye contact while giving my answers and discovered that while I was responding to questions from the head, the other was mocking me with facial gestures to the other. I was so shocked I didn’t know what to do.

While I was in law school and about 40 I had an interview with a late-20s lawyer who said my resume was great, but I wouldn’t want to do xeroxing for someone younger like him. You’d think a lawyer would know better.

Very recently I had an interview with two lawyers who, on the phone, seemed very interested in me. In the interview they very kindly spent an hour telling me that my experience is useless, that no-one will ever hire me, and that I’m basically screwed.