Called

I interviewed for a role I wasn’t keen on after I found out their budget and realized it paid below my expectations, but I went ahead with the interview anyway. It was with someone from the founder’s office and at my level, since there’s no one hired for my team yet. I looked him up on LinkedIn and turns out we graduated the same year, though that might be irrelevant. When he joined the call, he didn’t seem very friendly, which was fine. But whenever he asked questions and I tried to ask follow-up questions or get clarification, he seemed impatient and a little snappy. I let it slide at first, but at one point he let out a huge sigh and rolled his eyes very obviously. That’s when I couldn’t hold it in anymore and said, “I’m sorry, [name], but I can sense the frustration here, and I’m not comfortable with it. I’m just trying to understand the question so I can answer it better. If you don’t wish to continue the interview, I’m happy to leave.” His expression softened and he became very apologetic after that. Even toward the end of the interview, he said, “Please don’t hesitate to ask more questions, I’m sorry if I was rude,” and explained that there were a lot of people in the room and he couldn’t get a private space for the interview. I told him it was fine and said sorry as well if I was being too direct. I don’t really care if I don’t get a call back, but I’ve interviewed with only the leadership before who were extremely kind and patient enough to let me ask several questions. I feel sorry for whoever has to report to him. Lol