I decided a while ago that I wouldn't study for interviews, and it's served me well. I either know enough to get the job or I don't. Convoluted interviews where I fell on my face weren't necessarily always jobs I would have done badly at, but preparing a "tricky" interview like that with brain teasers and dumb algorithm questions was a strong enough negative signal to tell me I very likely wouldn't like working there much anyhow.

If I go into an interview without studying and fail legitimately on questions that relate to the job (and who hasn't done that?), then it's a good thing because I obviously wouldn't be able to handle the day-to-day work and therefore am a poor fit. :)

Really, to my mind, it's a win-win for everyone.

Yes. If you're not interviewing your potential employer, you either _really_ need a job (no shame) or you're blowing it.

Agree. And if your potential employer is the kind that will make you jump through arbitrary, irrelevant hoops to get the job, then what's working there going to be like? And if working there is going to be full of arbitrary hoops, do I really want to work there? No, I don't.

Then where do you work? Seems like all the ones I've experienced play some sort of game. Even just the grossly inaccurate or over the top job descriptions places post.