How to Survive a Hostile Interview

How to Survive a Hostile Interview If an interviewer wants to learn about a candidates emotional intelligence, she could ask you a series of questions about past behavior, or she could spend a significant portion of the interview acting like a total jerk and let your actions speak for themselves. The latter is becoming more and more common.behauptung types of stress or hostile interview tactics are gaining popularity since theyelicita real-life demonstration of how you would behave, ratzu sich than a rehearsedinterview answer.It is important to know that this is something you might encounter and what it could look like, as it will prepare you to handle or diffuse a tricky situation in an interview in the saatkorn way you would on the job.NegativityThe test of yourbehaviortypically starts upon meeting the interviewer. She will appear cold, distracted or generally annoyed. You may get the feeling that the interviewer is having a bad day. When greeted with negativity, pay special atten tion to your own reactions. Be sure not to mirror her negative behavior, but rather model positive behavior. Marina*, a client of mine who went through this type of interview, shared that when confronted with immediate negativity, she became very aware of her own demeanour. She consciously smiled, spoke in a pleasant tone and lowered her voice when the interviewers voice welches raised, hoping the interviewer would mirror her positive behaviors. This is an effective tactic to calm those who are upset, but we rarely expect to need to use this skill during a job interview.Lack of InformationYou might be asked questions that are impossible to answer without more information. For example, you may be asked to plan a complex event or prioritize a list of tasks. This is a test of confidence. Are you courageous enough to ask questions of an authority figure? The approach here is exactly the same as a traditional interview. If you dont understand the question, ask for clarification. Its okay to check to be sure that you understand the variables at play. You are worthy of receiving the right information to perform your job (which in this case is to nail the interview) correctly.Distraction / InterruptionThe interviewer may appear distracted or try to distract you by loudly typing or tapingherpen, interrupting you, or asking you to repeatyourselfmultiple times. (I know this sounds like a total nightmare, right?) Do your best to focus on the question at hand in these situations. In an interview, you may already be a little on edge and distractions or discourteous behaviour could easily be the straw that breaks the camels back in terms of stress. Take a deep breath, tune in to what the interviewer is saying and politely repeat yourself as necessary. Remember, its okay to ask the interviewer to repeat a question or to take a breath before answering.Role PlaysRole plays are an opportunity to introduce some hostile tactics without keeping the confrontational behavior up thro ughout the entire meeting. In these cases, you might be asked how youd handle a tricky situation with an employee, customer or vendor. This scenario quickly escalates with the interviewer pushing back on or criticizing your responses to see if you will stand firm in your answer or bend under pressure. Remember that this is a role play, so treat it as such. Take yourself out of the interviewee role and put your best expert hat on. Consider what you would do if an actual customer were speaking to you this way. Remember, you probably wouldnt tell a client to bugger off no matter how bad things escalated. Another hostile interview survivor, Emily*, was lucky enough to have received a heads up from another team member before she walked into this type of scenario. She recalls standing firm in both her convictions and demeanour while another candidate responded quite confrontationally and did not land the role.NotificationOnce youve made it to theend of the interviewor scenario, you can ex pect the gotcha moment when the interviewer shareshermotivation for behaving in an unprofessional or hostile way. It is typically a test of emotional intelligence and assertiveness for those in a leadership, sales or customer facing position. Remember to accept this revelation in a professional manner as well. You may even ask for feedback about things you did particularly well or could use improvement. Youll probably have a pretty good idea of how things went by your immediate reaction to hearing the news. Did you think thank goodness, it was hard to manage that conversation or oh dear, I should have handled that differently?There is a chance that you wont be notified that this was a real-time test of your abilities. If thats the case, its time to consider whether or not the position is right for you. An interview is the beginning of a relationship and there should be a fair amount of courting on both sides. If bad behavior starts during the interview, it may get worse from there. The clients I work with who are unhappy in their jobs regularly recount red flags that they discounted during an interviewandended up being behavior that became progressively worse.The key during these types of interviews is to keep it together and ensure your behavior is professional during the meeting. Get through it by showing the best version of you. Telling someone off in an interview will rarely eingabeaufforderung them to change their behavior or that of their organization and will only reflect poorly on your professionalism. Even if the interviewer ends up being a hostile person instead of a lovely person playing the part of a hostile interviewer, remaining professional and pleasant will ensure that theyonly have positive things to say about you. In a world that is becoming smaller and smaller, this will greatly help you as you progress in your career.*names have been changed to retain anonymity--Alyson Garrido ispassionateabout helping women advance their careers and findjo bsthey will enjoy. As acareer coach, she partners with her clients to identify their strengths and create a path toward a more fulfilling career. Alyson provides support around preparing for interviews, wertzuwachs reviews andsalarynegotiations, ensuring that you present yourself in the best possible light for job search and career advancement. Learn more or book a session with Alyson by visitingwww.alysongarrido.com.