What's the best way to proceed with the interview process when I like the company but I'm increasingly unsure that I want a job right now at all?

What are the things that make you feel like you don't want a job? Make a list of these things, then turn them into questions you can ask the interviewer. For example if you want to have the freedom to work on your own ideas, ask how much freedom you'll have to pursue your own ideas at this job. Then take the interview (Remember, interviews are two way, you're interviewing them too.) Ask your questions. The worst that will happen is that they offer you a job and you can decline because of the unsatisfactory answers to your questions. You'll have solid basis for refusing it and you can explain to them exactly why. It's not burning a bridge. If they want you know it's a good chance they'll want you in the future. The best that could happen is that the job gives you the things you're after and you'll get paid for it.

If someone interviews with me, is offered a job, and then turns it down, I've wasted good time. A job interview is a negotiation. Either side can say no, and professionals should expect that they're able to do so without any hard feelings. If you as an employer can tell a candidate that you've decided to consider other candidates, why can't the other person say they've decided to consider other opportunities OP: An interview isn't a commitment, but can be a valuable experience. Go for it - take the opportunity to shine your shoes and polish your interview skills, and who knows, maybe they'll really impress you, and you'll want to work for them. If not, thank them for their time and wish them the best of luck in finding a good candidate.

I think the point about wasting time was in talking about the potential for re-applying later. Of course people get interviewed and either don't get offered or don't accept the job - that's part of life. But if you don't accept the job, you've pretty well burnt a bridge if you think you might want to apply later.

If someone interviews with me, is offered a job, and then turns it down, I've wasted good time. It is unlikely I would even consider going through that process again unless they were so exceptional that I would be a fool not to hire them. The only way to proceed is to be honest, up front, prior to the interview, about your ambivalence, you'll avoid burning bridges you might need later.

An interview is a two-way street. They're learning about you and you're learning about them, with the end goal that both of you will make up your respective minds. So, if you have an open mind at all, I'd interview. But if you're dead set on not becoming employed again right now, I would tell them that before any interview - especially since, as you note, that will look more favorable if you later decide you might want to work for them.

However, as I have been going through the job searching process and seriously thinking about my future career, I am more and more coming to believe that what I should do next is spend some time working on some personal projects rather than immediately getting another job. Have you really thought this through? I mean, what you're saying is you'd like to quit your job to work on hobbies/personal ideas. That sounds great, and I don't know many people who would want to do otherwise, but given the current state of the labour market and the fact that it's a lot harder to find a job when you're unemployed than when you're currently employed, this seems like a foolish decision to me that could set you back career-wise. That said, taking an interview and then not accepting it is not wasting a company's time; you're in a position where they have to sell to you, and if they don't do it well enough to make you want to come work for them, you're under no obligation to take their offer. Take the interview and see how it goes.

Data point (and obviously not knowing your situation can't say it would work the same for you): I have currently been working for 4.5 years at a company for the same department with the same management where I interviewed for and turned down a position 6 years ago. The first time, after multiple interviews, they offered me a contract-to-hire position but the money wasn't enough to convince me not to take a different contract I was more interested in with a company I'd worked with before and politely told them that. When I submitted my resume for the second position (which was full time - and funded at the enterprise level so not project dependent - so I was more interested), I was nervous about a burned bridge -- so much so, that I considered hoping they'd not remember me. However, I wanted to know whether or not they'd reject me based on this (especially rather than having them have the beat of recognition obviously on the phone or in person) so I mentioned our shared past in my cover letter, stressing why I was even more interested in this new position. Turns out this was the right move as, because they remembered me, they didn't require a phone screening and I went straight to the first in-person interview. When we did meet in person, I was appropriately contrite about turning them down before but also explained why my recent experience made me a better candidate than I had been the first time around. Not only was the bridge not burned but I've always felt the offer they ended up making to me was more than I would have gotten if the first situation hadn't taken place. And maybe even more importantly, because of what it said about the company's corporate culture, I was more comfortable accepting a full time position from people who were more worried about hiring the person they thought was the best fit for the job than holding grudges.