Vague feedback months or years later...

So my boss pulls me aside the other day to tell me that Human resources have gotten complaints from prospective interns that my interviews are 'too rough'.

I haven't interviewed since February it's now late April. And after talking more to my boss, he says he's not even sure it was a complaint from February it could have been from even longer ago.

Well how much more vague can you be? Do you know if the students who complained were those who didn't get hired and did it not occur to them that perhaps the student complained because they didn't get hired?

I'm not sure how I can be too rough, other then by being "awkward'.  I mean I don't grill them on their knowledge anymore because feedback I'd gotten from the students I hired is that since most of them could not answer half  of the questions they left the interview feeling they did miserably and were shocked they were chosen.

So we ask them about their favourite classes, and the first operating system they used. What PC or laptop they own and if they can tell us the components. We also ask them about previous work experience and I generally ask them why I should chose them instead of another classmate of theirs I'd be interviewing.

I'm not sure how that's being rough.

Should I be calling them in and offering them coffee, and then asking them what they hope to be doing during the internship and telling them it's going to be ok.  Or perhaps I should hold their hand and whisper sweet nothings to them so that they don't feel it's an interview. Like WHAT THE FUCK? A job interview is supposed to be stressful. It's not supposed to be a fucking picnic!!!!

All I can say is that anyone who finds ME too rough, had better develop some balls because they will never survive as engineers. They think I'm rough, wait till they run into one of our owners. He barks at people.

I keep forgetting that this is the snowflake generation and these kids think that the world has to be their friend.  I don't know how any of these kids will survive at work.  I can see them going to HR to whine that their boss looked at them funny or worse gave them a tight deadline.