[tmhedberg]

The Google lunches are emphatically not a test. It's very rare for the lunch "interviewer" to provide any feedback at all. That usually only happens if the candidate starts spouting racist comments or punches someone in the lunch line, etc. The real purpose is to answer any questions the candidate has about culture, perks, etc. and to give them a chance to relax, catch their breath, and feel at ease in the middle of a stressful day of interviews. If the candidate was referred by a Googler, then often that person will be the one to take them to lunch, which would obviously create a conflict of interest if real feedback was expected.

[jlees]

I've found that some of the folks I took to lunch interviews were reluctant to ask certain questions because despite assurances that the lunch has no feedback, they didn't quite believe me (natural cynicism, I suppose). It was a shame.

[namelezz]

Yeah, especially when your company has been doing some dirty works behind users' back and you think that users are bunch of idiots that never learn from their lessons and keep believing in whatever you say. What's a lame expectation.