I had a stress interview in college. The interviewer was a VP and an alum of my college. I remember him asking a lot of gotcha questions, setting me up, letting me take the bait, then putting a ton of words in my mouth. As I watched my interview time slip away, I got fed up and cut him off. I decided I wanted to walk out with self-respect more than a job offer. I was polite, but firmly stopped his rude version of active listening, which involved taking my words, twisting them in the worst possible way, and claiming that's what I meant to say. I learned a valuable lesson, though. You can hold your ground without return the insult.

I knew a girl who had the same interviewer that day. She left in tears.

I just found a buddy and grabbed a beer.

My story ended up different. I got called back and went. I knew people who worked at the company and enjoyed it. My interviewer sounded like an anomaly. The second round of interviews went great with kind, professional interviewers. I ended up accepting a job offer and enjoyed the job. The company was nothing like that initial interview.