my point is that your ability to walk away doesn't make it an equal relationship. There are way more reputable candidates than there are reputable companies. It's one sided.
The exception being candidates skilled at a rare niche, then it's stacked in your favor.
> There are way more reputable candidates than there are reputable companies.
Your mileage might greatly vary.
I've only encountered companies that struggle to hire good people (so they end up not hiring many people at all, not enough to keep up with growth) and companies that struggle to hire good people (so they end up hiring everyone that passes Fizzbuzz and can't keep up their quality).
But then this is an insular market (Switzerland) where there are tens of thousands of unfilled positions.
It is already a two-way street in that as a candidate you chose the company, and expect specific things from them. If they don’t deliver on that part you will walk away.
To me parent’s point is that any company acting as if you’d unconditionally accept their offer if they made one is a recipe for failure.
Yes, a two-way relationship, but that doesn't mean you have equal leverage. They have way more leverage, especially if they are a good company and pay well.
I think I confused "two-way street" to mean an equal-sided transaction.
You leverage depends on your position and is not clear cut.
If you are interviewing to have an alternative to another offer, you might effectively dictate the process (time spent, deadlines etc.) if they want to interview you bad enough. And I’ve been on the receiving end as the recruiting company’s interviewer, pitching the job to get a favorable answer.
Same if you don’t have any pressure to leave your current job.
Sure big companies sometimes won’t have any leeway to deal with these candidates, that’s also why they get avoided by people who have the choice, and everyone’s happy.
you wanting the company to acknowledge that its a two-way street is evidence that it's not. It's very rare.
> I have cancelled way more interviews due to red flags happily waved by companies than companies have rejected me
You can boycott a business too if you don't like it, but that doesn't make it a two-way street. You have very little leverage over the business.