How to Respond to the Interviewer from Hell
What is it about an "interview" that has most people shaking in their boots? For one thing, we have no way of knowing what personality type we are dealing with when faced with the interviewer. Secondly, we have no way of knowing how much education and experience the interviewer might possess.
With these unknown factors uppermost in our minds, we are "put on the spot," eager to please the most hardened of interviewers with a vast array of expectations, hoping to say the right thing that will prompt a second interview. Whose to say what that "right response" might be?
The bookstores are full of help manuals, designed to aide the job hunter, filled with questions designed to throw the interviewee into a panic:
"So, tell me about yourself."
Those five little words have been known to put the most talented job hunter into speechless horror. What does the interviewer want to know about you? How you managed to purchase a car on your poverty-level salary? No. The number of cats you have, personally, saved from death? No. They want to know what reasons you can give that you are the best candidate for the position. Your work ethic? Your work habits? Your love of people? Some even ask you to tell them about your hobbies, awards, community involvement, and volunteer work. Are you one of the ones struck dumb by such questions?
If you are, do not despair. These questions are designed to throw you for a loop. The interviewer wants to see how you handle yourself. Do you come across as a knowledgeable person, one in the "know?" They also desire to find out if you will "fit in"the existing group of employees. The questions they ask can be as simple as:
"How long have you lived in the area?"
They really do not want a literal response. They want to know how many friends and family can be used as "referrals." It is a trick question. If you "fit in," then you will have a great many acquaintances whom you may rely at the last minute. If you are a "newbie" to the area or have a northern twang in your speech (in a southern town), you are less likely to be chosen.
One of my personal favorites, as far as interview questions go, is:
"Tell about your accomplishments."
What does the interviewer want to know? Accomplishments at work? What kind of accomplishments? Do not feel intimidated. Ask the interviewer to clarify their question by asking a question in response. Psychologically, you are putting them on the spot to come up with an appropriate answer, giving you much needed seconds, while racking your brain, in order to come up with a plausible situation which put you in the limelight in a good way.
If you have more education and experience than your interviewer, which is an unknown during the interview, you may come across as a pedantic know-it-all. Be forewarned to keep your sentence structure simple, not using big words that would intimidate. Interviewers do not take kindly to having to use the dictionary after an interview. They just toss your resume into "file 13," the garbage basket. The last person they want to hire is someone who makes other employees envious of your accomplishments. Interviewers do not like snobs.
If at all possible, research the company on-line so that you will be prepared for questions relating to the company's work ethic, their slogan or their training program. Keep in mind that some people are looking for someone to fit their "ideal" candidate image that includes race, sex, and age. Even though prospective employers are supposed to be "equal opportunity," they often have built-in prejudices that you cannot overcome.
When an interviewer seems surprised that the interviewee is past the age of forty, expect discriminatory conduct. Some methods of interviewer-discrimination may become readily apparent within the first five minutes. You will hear the words:
"You are not quite what I am looking for." Or, "I'm looking for someone who will "fit in" our small company." Or even, "I'm looking for someone I can "get along with."
Expressions such as these often trigger anger in the interviewee. After all, they have taken the time out of their busy schedule to dress, drive across town in rush hour traffic, and have usually spent half an hour getting lost before finding the company. Would you really want to work for someone who cannot see past the end of his nose?
Sometimes, interviewers take one look and decide this is not the right candidate, based upon a rigid set of internal rules that govern how much makeup a woman should wear, the type of clothing they prefer, the curliness of one's hair, or the accent that shows up in one's speech. Sometimes, after reviewing a resume, they offer vague excuses, saying that the interviewee does not possess the background they were looking for in a prospective candidate or that they have "just started" the interview process and have many more to interview before making a decision.
All of this is discrimination to the nth degree. You can and should report them to the Better Business Bureau, if they, perchance, belong to it. Most companies do not belong to associations that put the emphasis on conducting "better business." These type of companies do not typically last long, and who would want to work for someone who practices bad business?
Instead, aim higher. Question the interviewer. Do not allow them to intimidate you into becoming a blithering idiot who stutters responses. Ask the interviewer about the duties of the position, the chance of advancement, and benefits. After all, you are a qualified candidate that the prospective employer invited into his inner sanctum. You have a right to want to know all of the nitty-gritty details about the position for which you applied.
Sometimes, the best response an interviewee might make under these conditions is a simple, "Good luck!" before exiting the building.
You deserve to have the best career choice out there, no matter what anyone else says or thinks. There is nothing wrong with not fitting in. What is wrong is their definition of the term.
