I recently came across some old letters. They were responses to queries I’d sent in the early 1990s after failed job interviews asking what lessons I should be learning from the experience. A surprising number of interviewers replied, far more than would these days. Some of the replies correctly identified weaknesses in my “skill set” and were issues that needed some attention. Others identified weaknesses that did not exist. These were almost as useful because obviously I’d failed to explain myself properly at the interview and needed to rethink my presentation or answers. The third kind of reply were in their own way comforting. These revealed that the interviewer was barking mad and I had had a close escape from working for someone who was unhinged.