Interview Nightmares and how to deal
Imagine being interviewed in a pub by someone who interrupts and slurs their words, or to have a couple of dogs prowling around the interview room as you try to think of an answer to a question. Just a couple of examples from the Sunday Times Newspaper,
Too many people suffer at the hands of poor interviewers who do not understand the importance of candidate care and the impact their poor techniques can have on the candidates’ views of the company. I remember going for an interview with a large building society and being kept waiting for almost 3 hours with no explanation of why. In the end I had to leave half way through the interview as I needed to work at an evening assessment centre in my company. Obviously I didn’t get the job and I told a lot of people about my poor interview experience.
Too many interviewers think they can interview effectively without training and too many companies think they can get away with just a days training. I was probably spoilt in my time at Royal Mail – a 5 day pass/fail course, plus supervision until we were at the highest standard.
So what can you do when faced with a poor interviewer?
Well, complaining won’t get you the job so you need to look to take control. Here are 3 suggestions for how to deal:
1: If they ramble summarise what you think they are asking with a question such as “So let me give you an example of when I’ve dealt with a difficult customer!”
2: If they dry up you can take control and suggest questions such as “would it be helpful if I told you about my experience in running a sales team?”
3: If they keep you waiting for an excessive period of time or ask antagonistic questions they are probably aiming for a stress interview. You need to breathe deeply, keep calm and give controlled answers. Later you’ll want to think if you really want to work with a company that treats you like this.
What horror stories do you have and how have you dealt with them?
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