I talked to someone, a physician who runs a special service out of a community health center. Hiring staff is a part of her job. I asked her about job interviews. She gave me some insightful feedback.
I dissected my interview which took place at a major city hospital. It all fell apart when I realized the interviewers on the panel did not read my resume, which was a new experience for me. - I asked the physician how common this was. She told me she always reads resumes, but discovered through interviewees that it appears to be a common practice not to. She would not speculate why.
The physician told me a few stories about clinicians she hired, who interviewed poorly due to anxiety. One man could hardly speak. Another rambled. She said they were hired because they were gifted and effective clinicians who were able to connect with marginalized people, like the program clients. She pointed out the limitations of interviews in predicting success and their vulnerability to bias, which a lot of interviewers may be unaware of, because they lack the ability to critically access their assessments of prospective employees. Instead of relying on interview performance, she chose to use references and personal recommendations.
I guess a lot of it depends on the workplace culture and interviewers, specifically their ability to be introspective and see past this artificial process.