i hate the games that come with interviewing - can someone explain this to me?

i just came back from a job interview. i had met this woman two years ago so when i saw a job posting (which did not mention the # of years of experience she was looking for) i emailed her, she remembered me and asked me to come in for an interview.

now in the meantime, in talking to my old supervisor she told me that this woman had also contacted her but since she (my supervisor) moved to california, interviewing was of course not an option. now my supervisor has about 7 more years of experience than me so it was confusing as to why this woman would be talking to me AND her but nevermind that.

So I go in today and one of the first things she says is that right now she's looking for someone more senior right now but might be looking for someone at my level soon. The interview continued (I was there for an hour) and she said to keep in touch. Now this is exactly what she said to me the first time we met!!!!

So can someone please tell me, what the heck was the point of meeting with me if she was looking for someone with more experience? ordinarily i'd say this was an excuse to some degree that she just didn't like me and that would be fine but then why bother to say it at the very beginning of the interview? why bother to waste her time and mine? the fact that she gave me the exact same speech she gave me the first time confuses me even more, especially since I've heard it twice now.

I don't get it. Does this make sense to anyone?

Re: i hate the games that come with interviewing - can someone explain this to me?

Maybe she is really interested in you down the line?

I have a similar story. I was in my final 2 months of my senior year of college and i was interviewing with a test prep company that is a rival of the one I work at now and had worked at in college.

I got the interview through the recruting program for seniors at my college. I had a phone interview and two live interviews. At the 2nd live interview we discussed next steps and she asked me when I'd be able to start. I told her my graduation date (late may) and she said she needed someone within 2 weeks (it was early April). I told her I got the posting from the college, and clearly listed my graduation date on my resume and cover letter. We discussed maybe starting off part time until I graduated, but it didn't seem too promising. She invited me for the 4th and final interview which was actually working on the office for about 3 hours. It was supposed to be to see how I interacted with the team. It went as well as it could have. I didn't know anyone, but we all got along ok, and I actually did a lot of work because I knew how to do the basic things like grading tests, etc.

I sent a thank you email and letter and got NO RESPONSE whatsoever after 4 interviews. And I don't know why i was invited to the "final step" if my schedule was a problem.

On one of the interviews they seemed kind of wary that I worked for Kaplan for so long and asked why i wanted to switch..so maybe this is what held them back? Maybe they thought I was a spy! Anyway it sucked. i don't know why they jerk people around!

Re: i hate the games that come with interviewing - can someone explain this to me?

I would have asked her what she found interesting in you if the position was not at your level.