Why is it normalized for interview questions to be a complete surprise for the interviewee? I don't understand why we have to spend hours preparing for every single possible “tell me about a time when” question, instead of them just sending a list of questions that will be asked ahead of time.
They can always add ad hoc followup questions if they want a candid response… But wouldn't they rather see how a person can perform when they're prepared?
It's impossible to have all scenarios at the tip of my tongue, and I'm exhausted trying to type out pages and pages of professional stories to reference in the off chance that the question is asked.