The interview focused heavily on asking me to list large management mistakes I had made. There was strong pressure to come up with multiple “big failures”, and it was even mentioned that other candidates proudly listed a lot of serious mistakes. I fully believe everyone learns from their own mistakes. At the same time, I think a careful, responsible manager often avoids big failures through good judgment, preparation, and early intervention. Not having a long list of major mistakes should not be treated as a negative or as a lack of experience. The process felt biased towards a very specific idea of what “good management experience” looks like, rather than assessing real leadership, decision-making, and long-term impact. Overall, it wasn’t a balanced or realistic way to evaluate an experienced engineering manager.