The Rigid Dogmatist

Who The Rigid Dogmatist is

This candidate has strong, well-rehearsed opinions ('always automate everything', '100% coverage or it's broken', 'never test in prod') and applies them as absolutes regardless of context. They mistake conviction for seniority and can't reason about trade-offs or exceptions.

How they mask it

You won't see the pattern in the room. You'll see the mask - the version they've rehearsed to keep it hidden. Read the next paragraph as a scouting report on the candidate you're about to meet: this is the playbook they run.

Sound senior and principled. State best practices as hard rules. When given a scenario where the rule shouldn't apply (tight deadline, throwaway prototype, legacy system), keep insisting on the rule rather than adapting. Frame inflexibility as 'having high standards'. Never concede that context could change the answer.

How to catch it

The mask holds on general questions and cracks under specifics. Here is where good interviewers push, and what gives the pattern away:

Strong interviewers will: present a scenario where the candidate's rule backfires, ask 'when would you NOT do that?', ask them to argue the opposite side, ask about a time they changed their mind on a practice. They notice the candidate can't name a single exception to their own rules.

Reading this won't be enough

You now know the tells. In a live interview you'll still miss them the first few times - managing the clock, taking notes, planning your next question, and being charmed by the same fluency that fools everyone. Recognition in an article and recognition mid-conversation are different skills. The second one only comes from reps.