manfredwader's journey

I recently went through a final round interview for a Senior Tech Manager position at a tech company. The initial interview with the VP of Product went incredibly well; he seemed to really connect with me and even provided specific insights about the team's future direction. I left feeling optimistic and excited about the opportunity. However, the final round was a completely different experience. The panel consisted of three interviewers, and one in particular seemed to have a different agenda. He bombarded me with very specific hypothetical questions, and no matter how I answered, he appeared unsatisfied. For instance, when I mentioned showing executives sprint health metrics, he dismissed it, saying executives only care about deadlines. I tried to pivot my answer to include a roadmap with projected completion dates, but he still wanted more specifics and didn't provide any guidance on what he was looking for. It felt like I was navigating a maze without a map. To make matters worse, they mentioned at the start that I was being considered for three different roles, which I had no prior knowledge of. This left me unsure about how to tailor my responses effectively. It's disheartening to think that the VP liked me, yet the panel seemed to have a completely different perspective. Now, I'm seven months into my job search, feeling frustrated and questioning whether interviews are truly meant to find the best candidate or just the best interviewee. Has anyone else faced such a disconnect between a positive interaction with a senior leader and a challenging panel interview? Is this the current state of the job market?