How To Survive The Horrible, Angry, Or Hostile Job Interview

Job interviews are already worrisome situations

. You have a lot on the line you might feel financial urgency, your confidence could be down after a prolonged search, or maybe youre employed and paranoid your current company will find out youre looking.

In the ideal world, the interviewer recognizes the heightened anxiety of the interview situation, puts you at ease, and knows the best questions to ask to showcase you in your best light. Unfortunately this wont happen often enough that you can depend on the interviewer for ideal conditions. You need to be able to maintain composure and flourish if the interview situation is less than ideal or even outright hostile:

Stressful conditions. The office faces an unexpected client crisis and so the interviewer tries to rush you. The air conditioner is broken in the windowless interview room.

The water cooler is empty. Your physical environment plays a big role in how comfortable youll feel, and it wont always be welcoming.

Expect the worst, so youll be pleasantly surprised. Prepare what youll need so youre not dependent on anyone else. Bring your own water. Arrive 15 minutes before your interview, so you can cool down from the commute. Dont take your interviewers temperament personally if he or she is rushed, consider it a good sign that the office is busy.

Negatively-framed interview questions. You already know to prepare for the weakness question. But there are other negative questions designed to trap you into complaints and problems: tell me about a project where something went wrong; tell me about your most difficult client; what dont you like about your boss; whats the biggest mistake you made? Ouch! Even if you mean to remain stoic and objective, these questions can bring anyone down.

Just as you prepare for the weakness question, you need to prepare for other negatively-framed questions. Preparation is half the battle. Be specific in what you share. Dont leave it up to the interviewers imagination because they will always assume the worst. Give examples that detail the problem from start to finish so it is clear exactly what the situation was. Always include what you learned or how you turned the situation or client around. Speak objectively, with a neutral, not a judgmental tone.

Your self-doubt and bad interview habits. Sometimes the interview environment and the interviewer are just fine, but you sabotage yourself. The interviewer innocuously asks why youre leaving your position and you volunteer your bad relationship with your boss. The interviewer asks you to expand on your social media experience and you highlight that its only a small part of your job, instead of just answering the question and highlighting what you have accomplished on the digital front. The interviewer asks you to talk about yourself and instead of responding with the exact few things the interviewer should know about you, you launch your boilerplate, two-minute pitch of your life story from graduation through the present.

Dont speak negatively of your past companies, colleagues or supervisors. Dont downplay your experience. Engage your interviewer with specifics, not templates. Dont let lack of self-confidence or lack of preparation derail your interview performance.

Its easy to blame a poor outcome on a horrible interview, but you control more than you think. Good interview habits, proactively building your self-confidence, and preparing for difficult interview questions and conditions will help you ensure a positive outcome despite a horrible, angry or hostile interview situation.

by: Caroline Levine

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