Comment by sigotirandolas

> Maybe things are this equal and fair on the senior, high-paying part of the spectrum

I don't think the fundamental dynamics change by seniority, just that after some level there may simply be a smaller pool.

From the interviewers perspective, it makes sense to reject a candidate if they see any possibility it could be a flop. A bad hire is going to frustrate the team and look bad to the company, missing the best candidate is just going to result in hiring their next best pick.

> As someone just starting out, the general feeling among my peers is that I must bend to the interviewer's whims, any resistance or pushback will get you rejected.

I guess this is very context dependent but I can also see "bending to the interviewer's whims" backfiring if they see you're just trying to flatter them. I could see some interviewers valuing that you can explain your point if it's framed in a way that shows you are both observant and easy to work with. If it's framed as a more aggressive kind of pushback, yes that's going to get you rejected.

But yeah, I can also see that if you're willing to take any offer at any company as a junior just to get your feet into the industry most interviewers may not be specially smart and resisting is likely to go wrong.