Small Business

It's Not You, It's Them: 5 Ways to Survive a Bad Job Interviewer

By Jeff Haden

Updated on: August 31, 2011 / 9:08 AM EDT / MoneyWatch

I know a number of small business owners who are looking for part-time (or nearly full-time) jobs. Their businesses are struggling yet they don't want to give up completely, and getting a job can help them replace reduced business income while they try to ride out the downturn.
Whether or not that is the right decision for them is personal and irrelevant, but what is relevant is that some business owners are faced with the daunting prospect of interviewing for the first time in years -- if ever.

Interviewing is scary enough, but what if the interviewer is poor? When an interviewer is terrible, or makes basic mistakes, the experience can be excruciating for the candidate -- and can definitely jeopardize their chances of landing the job.

In a recent post, Hiring? Don't Make the 7 Most Common Interview Mistakes, I shared basic ways interviewers can screw up an interview. If it has been a while since you've interviewed for a job (or even if it hasn't) here's what to do if you find yourself in front of an interviewer who makes a few of those mistakes:

1. The interviewer springs a surprise group interview. Many companies prefer candidates to be screened by multiple people; to make the process "efficient" those interviews could take place in a group setting. You sit on one side of the table and three or four or even 12 (which happened to me) people sit on the other side. Yippee.

What to do: You can't change the hiring process, but you can prepare. When contacted to schedule the interview, ask questions: How the process works, who you will speak with, and especially whether a group interview is planned. Then mentally prepare. Be prepared to spread your attention to everyone in the room -- especially the quiet ones. Realize in a group setting it's less noticeable if you take longer pauses between questions to gather your thoughts. And don't be scared of pauses because a group tends to fill its own silence. Above all, remember in a group setting it's easy to fall into "presentation mode." As you answer a question speak to one person, then shift your attention to another, then another... An interview is a conversation and a group interview is still one conversation, just with more people.

2. The interviewer talks about possibilities. Many interviewers sell the position, or the company, or even themselves. They talk about potential projects, potential expansion, potential opportunities for you if hired, etc., but they make those possibilities sound definite and absolute and you could accept the job based on unrealistic expectations.

What to do: Listen closely to any discussions regarding the future. Ask for details. You don't need to interrogate the interviewer though. Be subtle. Don't say, "Now, is that project actually approved and funded?" Ask a leading question like, "That sounds great; I bet the approval process was intense." Most importantly, use what you know about a job -- job description, reporting chain, benefits, salary, etc -- to decide whether or not to accept the job. If possibilities turn out to be realities, so much the better

3. The interviewer fails to go off script. Providing a concise answer to an interview question is great, especially when a question is specific. But an interviewer who does not ask additional questions can fail to get the full story of your skills and achievements.

What to do: Be alert for the "I'm just checking off the boxes" interviewer. If your first few answers fail to spark additional conversation, start expanding. Sell yourself a little more. Share details about why you took certain actions, how you had to adjust, how things turned out... assume each of your answers should be more like a brief story than courtroom testimony. If the interviewer doesn't ask, find ways to tell.

4. The interviewer monopolizes the conversation. Monologue interviewers are a major challenge. Interrupt too often or try to regain a little of the conversational balance and you seem rude; sit passively and you accomplish nothing.

What to do: The key is to seize opportunities to interject by responding. Say an interviewer drones on about the challenges -- challenges he overcomes, of course -- of running a multi-facility, high-profile expansion project. Try to shoehorn in a, "Wow, that sounds really hard... I know when I was in charge of a team that redesigned our network platform the most gratifying thing was getting everyone to pull together." You may not accomplish much, but you will manage to share at least one achievement -- and maybe plant a small seed in the interviewer's mind that you're a little like him. (Just not nearly as awesome as he is, of course.)

5. The interviewer fails to debrief the front desk. Smart interviewers find out how you acted and what you did while you were waiting. Lobby behavior can say a lot about a candidate. (Some call this the "receptionist test.") But many interviewers don't ask for other opinions.

What to do: Be at your best throughout all stages of the process. On the phone, by email, when talking to the administrative assistant who schedules the interview, while waiting in the lobby... make a great impression on everyone. Then, even if the interviewer does not ask others for input, some may volunteer. I once gave a candidate a second look because my assistant said she changed his interview schedule three times, canceled him twice, then called him on short notice to squeeze him in... and throughout he was polite, gracious, and understanding. How a person acts under duress -- or when they don't think they need to be "on" -- can provide great insight into the real person. Show the real you at all times. Good employers want the real you.

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Photo courtesy flickr user skunks, CC 2.0