A passive-aggressive interview "question" is a hilariously bad example of "directness". Nah dude, you were just a jerk.
It also wasn’t passive aggressive, or at least it wasn’t intended to be. I actually wanted to know if that was just a thing that was common in the company so I could plan accordingly.
Most hiring managers won't like this, as they don't want to be responsible for hiring someone volatile like this.
I think the only place you could get away with this is if you're interviewing with a C-Suite member who has nobody to answer to.
If someone is a jerk to you, and then you’re a jerk to them… you’re still a jerk.
Pointing out something that was objectively douchy isn’t “wrong”. Yes I was a little snarky, and maybe I am a “jerk”, but considering that this person was happy to just waste my time like it was nothing I do think he was entitled to a little embarrassment.
This is exactly the kind of signal that would make me not want to hire someone.
Tit-for-tat? Spite? No thanks.
If I had shown up fifteen minutes late for the interview I wouldn’t have gotten an offer and the interviewer might have made a comment about it during the interview and people generally wouldn’t call them an asshole for it.
Regardless, you kind of proved what I was trying to say. Most people don’t actually want directness. The fact that when I was direct with someone you’re treating it like some mafioso retribution is telling.