[justmedep]

If someone responds with “10” and fails to answer basic questions about that specific topic you know that the person is either lying or is overly confident.

[doe_eyes]

If they selected "5" and failed to answer the same question, would they be a hire? If not, what's gained by having them self-assess?

I imagine the answer might be "we wouldn't waste time talking to them", but then, you just created an incentive for a person who would otherwise rate themselves as "5", "6", or "7" to pick a higher number in hope of squeezing through. You then penalize that in the interview process. Seems pretty counterproductive?

[LargeWu]

It's not intended to be the only question we ask, it's just another data point. That's why you do a full interview.

To your point, though, even saying 5 and not being able to answer basic questions would be a huge red flag.

[bobthepanda]

there are so many other ways to figure out if a person is not an expert. like just asking them basic questions without the bs.

[drewcoo]

To be fair, the BS is probably a regular part of the job at that company, so it's a good way to signal that to the candidate.