During the job search, applicants need to be aware of the courtesy interview. A courtesy job interview is one in which the company recruiter has no intent of hiring the candidate, but conducts the interview anyway. The courtesy interview is known to human resource departments, and is a practice carried out by every level of the hiring process.
There are also interviews which are ceremonial. The reviewer has already made up his or her mind to hire the candidate, and the meeting is perfunctory. The courtesy interview on the other hand, is a pretense of interest. There are some professionals who believe it exhibits a lack of respect toward the job applicant. At the least, it leans to an incredible disservice to the applicant, and a waste of time for both parties. If conducted carelessly, it can leave the candidate with a bad taste in the mouth. Why then, do recruiters, headhunters, former colleagues, Fortune 500 companies, etc. conduct courtesy interviews?
The answer is found in two types of courtesy interviews: