Nothing wrong in principle with leaving an interview halfway through if you are sure you won't fit. However you should do it at a break and discretely. The description doesn't sound like that, but the reality may have been different.

However was he really sure that he wouldn't fit in? My personal view is that he jumped to conclusions. I can think of a number of scenarios that might have changed his mind:

• Just because people are asking about side projects and programming doesn't mean that they are the only criteria being considered. Maybe the first couple of hours were going to be all about programming, and the next couple about other aspects.
• Just because there is a dominant culture (jeans and sandals) doesn't mean it's the only acceptable culture. Maybe the company would have been very happy for him to come to work in a suit every day.
• The group interview may not have been given as much weight as he thought. I once was interviewed by a company where I had an hour of silly logic puzzles and programming trivia from developers fifteen years my junior. But in reality the CEO wasn't paying them any attention - he just wanted them to have the interviewing experience and hired me anyway. (He had the decency to warn me first though).
• There may be a hidden agenda. A senior manager may realize he has a young and inexperienced team and wants an older wiser person (like you) to bring some balance. He might even be hoping you could change the culture. He's only letting the 'crowd' interview you so they don't feel they have been shut out. He would have hired you despite their complaints about you 'not following dogmatic procedure' - but he won't hire you if you walk out.

At the very least I would recommend talking to one of the senior guys before just walking out.

Nothing wrong in principle with leaving an interview halfway through if you are sure you won't fit. However you should do it at a break and discreetly. The description doesn't sound like that, but the reality may have been different.

However was he really sure that he wouldn't fit in? My personal view is that he jumped to conclusions. I can think of a number of scenarios that might have changed his mind:

• Just because people are asking about side projects and programming doesn't mean that they are the only criteria being considered. Maybe the first couple of hours were going to be all about programming, and the next couple about other aspects.
• Just because there is a dominant culture (jeans and sandals) doesn't mean it's the only acceptable culture. Maybe the company would have been very happy for him to come to work in a suit every day.
• The group interview may not have been given as much weight as he thought. I once was interviewed by a company where I had an hour of silly logic puzzles and programming trivia from developers fifteen years my junior. But in reality the CEO wasn't paying them any attention - he just wanted them to have the interviewing experience and hired me anyway. (He had the decency to warn me first though).
• There may be a hidden agenda. A senior manager may realize he has a young and inexperienced team and wants an older wiser person (like you) to bring some balance. He might even be hoping you could change the culture. He's only letting the 'crowd' interview you so they don't feel they have been shut out. He would have hired you despite their complaints about you 'not following dogmatic procedure' - but he won't hire you if you walk out.

At the very least I would recommend talking to one of the senior guys before just walking out.

Nothing wrong in principle with leaving an interview halfway through if you are sure you won't fit. However you should do it at a break and discretely. The description doesn't sound like that, but the reality may have been different.

However was he really sure that he wouldn't fit in? My personal view is that he jumped to conclusions. I can think of a number of scenarios that might have changed his mind:

• Just because people are asking about side projects and programming doesn't mean that they are the only criteria being considered. Maybe the first couple of hours were going to be all about programming, and the next couple about other aspects.
• Just because there is a dominant culture (jeans and sandals) doesn't mean it's the only acceptable culture. Maybe the company would have been very happy for him to come to work in a suit every day.
• The group interview may not have been given as much weight as he thought. I once was interviewed by a company where I had an hour of silly logic puzzles and programming trivia from developers fifteen years my junior. But in reality the CEO wasn't paying them any attention - he just wanted them to have the interviewing experience and hired me anyway. (He had the decency to warn me first though).
• There may be a hidden agenda. A senior manager may realize he has a young and inexperienced team and wants an older wiser person (like you) to bring some balance. He's only letting the 'crowd' interview you so they don't feel they have been shut out. He would have hired you despite their complaints about you 'not following dogmatic procedure' - but he won't hire you if you walk out.

At the very least I would recommend talking to one of the senior guys before just walking out.

Nothing wrong in principle with leaving an interview halfway through if you are sure you won't fit. However you should do it at a break and discretely. The description doesn't sound like that, but the reality may have been different.

However was he really sure that he wouldn't fit in? My personal view is that he jumped to conclusions. I can think of a number of scenarios that might have changed his mind:

• Just because people are asking about side projects and programming doesn't mean that they are the only criteria being considered. Maybe the first couple of hours were going to be all about programming, and the next couple about other aspects.
• Just because there is a dominant culture (jeans and sandals) doesn't mean it's the only acceptable culture. Maybe the company would have been very happy for him to come to work in a suit every day.
• The group interview may not have been given as much weight as he thought. I once was interviewed by a company where I had an hour of silly logic puzzles and programming trivia from developers fifteen years my junior. But in reality the CEO wasn't paying them any attention - he just wanted them to have the interviewing experience and hired me anyway. (He had the decency to warn me first though).
• There may be a hidden agenda. A senior manager may realize he has a young and inexperienced team and wants an older wiser person (like you) to bring some balance. He might even be hoping you could change the culture. He's only letting the 'crowd' interview you so they don't feel they have been shut out. He would have hired you despite their complaints about you 'not following dogmatic procedure' - but he won't hire you if you walk out.

At the very least I would recommend talking to one of the senior guys before just walking out.