This CEO’s controversial interview tactic divided the internet

A CEO takes a controversial approach to hiring by giving candidates blunt, real-time feedback during job interviews. He then records their response as a pass-fail signal for the role.

Gagan Biyani, CEO of education platform Maven and co-founder of online learning platform Udemy, said in recent identical posts on X And LinkedIn that he now shares ‘direct feedback’ with candidates during interviews, sometimes in front of a panel and sometimes in a one-on-one setting.

He called the feedback portion “the most telling part of a candidate’s interview,” because if the candidate gets stuck or offended, they may notice that they are not a good fit. On the other hand, if they lean in and find the feedback exciting, their response increases their chances of getting an offer.

Related: Here’s how many interviews an AI Bot creator got in one month

“Is anyone else doing this? I wonder if I’m crazy or brilliant,” Biyani wrote in the post.

Started providing direct feedback to candidates during the application process. Often in public during our panel interviews or live at the end of my 1:1 with them.

It is often the most telling part of a candidate’s interview.

If this is their nightmare, the candidate gets stuck or…

– Gagan Biyani? (@gaganbiyani) December 6, 2025

Biyani noted that he reserves feedback for candidates he likes, especially those with whom he is likely to progress in the interview process. Sometimes he gives feedback to candidates he “really liked” but who were not suitable for that position.

He wants to see whether candidates can absorb comments and change course on the spot.

“Whatever happens, we expect the candidate to take the feedback in real time and change their answers from then on,” Biyani wrote in the post.

The interview technique has drawn mixed reactions on social media. One professional on LinkedIn commented that Biyani’s approach was “how to find resilient, adaptable team members.”

Related: Major companies are bringing back in-person job interviews to combat AI fraud

Many others disagreed with Biyani’s tactics. The most beloved remark in his LinkedIn post, he argued that real-time feedback in interviews doesn’t actually measure coachability, but rather which candidates are “willing to suppress their nervous system’s response to humiliation, stress, and social threat in exchange for a job.”

Career coach Kyle Elliott said Fortune on Tuesday, Biyani said Biyani’s approach reads like an “insensitive science experiment,” stressing that the feedback is one-sided, has no prior understanding and directly affects whether someone gets the job.

“If your company doesn’t care about psychological safety [and] likes to put people on the spot…I guess you could run this test,” Elliott told the outlet.

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A CEO takes a controversial approach to hiring by giving candidates blunt, real-time feedback during job interviews. He then records their response as a pass-fail signal for the role.

Gagan Biyani, CEO of education platform Maven and co-founder of online learning platform Udemy, said in recent identical posts on X And LinkedIn that he now shares ‘direct feedback’ with candidates during interviews, sometimes in front of a panel and sometimes in a one-on-one setting.