do I look like an HR person?

When engineering candidates come onsite, we usually schedule them so that they jump right into technical interviews, rather than having a meeting with a recruiter first. It's expected that they will have talked to the recruiter over the phone already, and given limited HR resources, it makes more sense for the candidate to get a wrap-up meeting than an intro meeting.

Today, I was the first person on an interview schedule, and apparently the candidate thought I was an HR person, until I started asking him technical questions. Envision this:

me:	How was your flight? Did you come in yesterday?
him:	Good, yeah I got in yesterday evening.
me:	So, do you want anything to eat or drink?
him:	Sure, I'll have a coffee, thanks.
me:	Here you go. Okay, so how would you reverse a linked list?
him:	Eh??

I'm not sure what to take away from that experience. Maybe I should stop making small talk with candidates. Maybe I should make sure to wear clothes with big MIT logos. Or maybe I should just be amused.