[HillRat]

I have ended a few interviews early when I was absolutely certain that a candidate wasn't a fit, but only when they were objectively not right for a position. What I try to do in those cases is end the main interview set gracefully, then take the candidate in for a one-on-one and talk to them about where their skills don't fit, and what kind of position they would have more success searching for.

In general, my belief is that any time a candidate reaches out, they're putting faith in me to treat them with the respect they deserve -- everyone is a good fit somewhere, and I have no time for people who want to use interviews as a chance to prove their intellectual superiority or to band the team against a possibly inferior "outsider." Same thing with using whiteboard-heavy interviews as a weapon -- I have yet to hit upon the secret sauce for finessing a candidate who might be a great fit but is floundering with the stress of a whiteboard problem, but I do try very hard to not make them feel like they're failing, while seeing if they can approach the problem in a rigorous manner.