&gt;  I had a lot of success pretending that I was the one interviewing 5 people rather than being interviewed by those people.<p>THIS is a smart play for every job-seeker.  Develop your own scorecard and questions for individuals on the interview team.  Relative to &quot;Dead-End&quot; status-- explore if this particular role &amp; its work are recognized and valued by colleagues and corporate higher-ups.<p>- What are the team&#x2F;company mission &amp; goals?<p>- How will they evaluate your work?<p>- How might you leverage the experienced gained here?