I want to agree with you, but having been part of the pair-interviewing process at one of the FAANG companies, it did seem like candidates would be declined for the most arbitrary technical screw-ups. One time a manager (at least nominally) voted "No" on a candidate specifically because, despite figuring out the solution to the problem, had a compilation error in their Java code and ran out of time to fix it. I remember saying to the manager that that seems like a pretty silly reason to decline someone, compilation errors are typically pretty easy to fix, but I was relatively new to the job so I didn't want to rock the boat too much. He claimed that they only want "the best" and I guess that implied that the best don't have compilation errors.
If it wasn't a compilation error it would have been something else to cover up an unconscious bias or a 'gut feeling'. Basically seeking out the evidence, no matter how weak it is, to fit the 'crime'.
I wouldn't believe anyone who said they've never been there. For all the times you're told to trust your gut, there are plenty more times where your gut is just plain wrong and you have to go against it.
For sure. It seems akin to throwing out half the resumes at random because you only want to hire lucky people.
Personally, when I'm interviewing I help people get past dumb mistakes. We all make them, and some of the best developers I have worked with are the type to get nervous in interviews, so they become more likely to make them and have a hard time finding them. The "best" interviewee is not always the best developer.
