Don"t Let a Lousy Interviewer Turn You Off to the Job
Your diligent efforts paid off! You found an opportunity with a company on your "wish list" and have been invited to come in for a series of interviews.
That day, you meet with several people.
Not only do you talk with someone from HR and the person to whom you'd report, but you also interview with other key members of the executive team.
Unfortunately, two of those people really rub you the wrong way.
One of them pays far more attention to phone calls and emails than she does to you.
Not only that, it's pretty obvious she never looked at your resume before you walked in the door.
It's difficult to remain focused, and you feel this individual has no interest in you.
The second person spends the entire time talking..
..
about himself, about how fabulous his team is, about his professional background, about his family...
and you're barely able to get a word in.
You walk out with a sour taste in your mouth.
That might be a mistake.
Don't assume too much from inept interviewers.
Interviewing is a skill at which few people excel.
Add to that any number of contributing factors that can result in a less than satisfactory meeting: o The interviewer is swamped; you're not going to report to him, he's up to his eyeballs in work, so he hasn't looked at your paperwork.
Or he lets interruptions distract him during the course of the conversation.
o The interviewer is disinterested.
o He's not much of a "people person.
" o He's rude; this is normal behavior for him.
o He feels threatened; he thinks you may try to take his job.
o He's under the weather.
o He's nervous and doesn't have much experience interviewing people, so he talks too much.
Get the idea? Keep in mind that you can manage each of these situations for a more positive outcome.
If you know what you're doing, you may be surprised at how successfully you can turn any one of these circumstances into a much smoother, more productive conversation.
An interview with someone who is impolite or arrogant or disinterested or just not on his game that day needn't turn you off to the opportunity.
You should have thoroughly researched the company prior to your interviews.
Unless the person who rubbed you the wrong way was the individual who will be your direct supervisor, you need to put the conversation in broader context - shake it off and don't let it cloud your thinking.
That day, you meet with several people.
Not only do you talk with someone from HR and the person to whom you'd report, but you also interview with other key members of the executive team.
Unfortunately, two of those people really rub you the wrong way.
One of them pays far more attention to phone calls and emails than she does to you.
Not only that, it's pretty obvious she never looked at your resume before you walked in the door.
It's difficult to remain focused, and you feel this individual has no interest in you.
The second person spends the entire time talking..
..
about himself, about how fabulous his team is, about his professional background, about his family...
and you're barely able to get a word in.
You walk out with a sour taste in your mouth.
That might be a mistake.
Don't assume too much from inept interviewers.
Interviewing is a skill at which few people excel.
Add to that any number of contributing factors that can result in a less than satisfactory meeting: o The interviewer is swamped; you're not going to report to him, he's up to his eyeballs in work, so he hasn't looked at your paperwork.
Or he lets interruptions distract him during the course of the conversation.
o The interviewer is disinterested.
o He's not much of a "people person.
" o He's rude; this is normal behavior for him.
o He feels threatened; he thinks you may try to take his job.
o He's under the weather.
o He's nervous and doesn't have much experience interviewing people, so he talks too much.
Get the idea? Keep in mind that you can manage each of these situations for a more positive outcome.
If you know what you're doing, you may be surprised at how successfully you can turn any one of these circumstances into a much smoother, more productive conversation.
An interview with someone who is impolite or arrogant or disinterested or just not on his game that day needn't turn you off to the opportunity.
You should have thoroughly researched the company prior to your interviews.
Unless the person who rubbed you the wrong way was the individual who will be your direct supervisor, you need to put the conversation in broader context - shake it off and don't let it cloud your thinking.
Source...