View from the other side of the interview desk

I once agreed to interview a clearly overqualified candidate for an opening on my team at my Department Head's request (based on her resume, she would be more qualified for his position, albeit workin

I once agreed to interview a clearly overqualified candidate for an opening on my team at my Department Head's request (based on her resume, she would be more qualified for his position, albeit working for a much smaller organization, than as a direct report on my team). Before her scheduled appointment, we experienced an "all-hands" emergency. I called our front desk and warned them this person would be arriving soon, but there would surely be a delay. I asked them to apologize to the applicant, explain the circumstances, and ask her to wait until I could proceed with the interview. 15 minutes after her scheduled arrival, I was comfortable enough with my team's initial response to interview her, and called downstairs to tell them to allow her to proceed to our floor. I met her at the top of the stairs, bypassing our floor security & reception, and proceeded with the interview (after apologizing for & explaining the delay). She was totally uninterested in the job she was (supposedly) applying for, and let me know that her ambitions were to apply for senior-level positions well above my pay grade, & asked me to arrange for introductions to our C-level managers, which I declined (and abruptly ended the "interview"). The next day, my Dept. Head demanded to know how I could "allow a candidate with her experience to wait in the lobby and then cancel her interview", until I explained she actually wanted a position far above his place on the org chart. I followed her on various professional & social media channels after that to see where she wound up - and it was WELL below the C-level job she imagined for herself as well as the position on my team she expressed disinterest in.