Interviewing Inadequacies

Job Seeker's Story

Stacey's job search had gone on for more than six months with no job offers, and she was getting discouraged. With 10 years of experience in Marketing and Marketing Management, plus a recent MBA in Marketing, Stacey had been with a company that had gone through re-structuring and drastic employee cuts after a merger. Stacey had decided on her own to leave and had no trouble in quickly landing interviews. But somehow they did not progress to the job-offer stage. As Stacey was pondering her situation, she received a phone call from Lenore, Human Resources Executive Director of a staffing firm, who indicated she would like to interview Stacey over the phone briefly for a Director of Marketing position. Stacey happily agreed.

Stacey and Lenore proceeded to have a very friendly conversation about Stacey's qualifications and past accomplishments. Lenore was impressed and already had mentally earmarked Stacey for an in-person interview when she asked her last question: “Stacey, why did you leave your last marketing position?”

Stacey took a deep breath and quickly responded, “I left because my boss was a jerk. This guy had an ego the size of the Grand Canyon, and I just decided one day I had had enough. I would not put up with his overbearing attitude any longer. Within two weeks, I was out of there!”

Lenore gripped the phone and, smiling tightly, replied, “I see. Well, I think I have enough information. Thank you for your time.” Lenore had decided then and there to exclude Stacey from further consideration and crossed her name off the list of qualified applicants.

Maggie, another job seeker, met a similar fate in her face-to-face interview with Craig, the Vice President of Employment for a large financial-services firm. Maggie, a Recruiting Specialist, had also experienced a lengthy job search that included many interviews, but no job offers. As Craig asked the standard interviewing questions, he was forming a positive impression about Maggie and was seriously considering hiring her for the open recruiting position. Then Craig asked, “If I were to speak to your current boss, what would he say about you?”

Without skipping a beat, Maggie looked Craig in the eyes and replied, “Well, we used to be friends. Then he did some things I didn't agree with. So I sued the clown and the company, and they lost. He probably wouldn't have anything favorable to say.”

Taken aback, Craig finished the interview and, as he escorted Maggie out the door, wondered who the “lucky” employer would be to get Maggie next. It certainly would not be his company!

Job Seeker's Stumble

Both Stacey and Maggie committed the fatal faux pas of bad-mouthing a former employer and, in Maggie's case, bragging about winning a lawsuit against her former company and boss! These harsh and ill-advised comments revealed their lack of good common sense and insensitivity to an employer's concern about hiring ego-centric (non-team-oriented) and litigious applicants who apparently lacked interpersonal, communications, and conflict-resolution skills.

Job Seeker's New Strategy

Calling anyone, especially a previous boss, a “jerk” or a “clown” in an interview raises concerns about an applicant's professionalism and judgment. Keeping to the facts of the situation regarding any question is usually “safe” territory. The moment you interject a value judgment about a situation or another person—your boss, co-worker, client, consultant, supplier/vendor, or professional colleague, for example—you are treading on dangerous territory.

Likewise, revealing past actions that had a negative impact on a former employer is not exactly in the category of making a good impression. Your track record of behaviors, both good and bad, is seen as a predictor of future behavior. Do you think any employer would welcome an applicant into its midst with a track record of suing his or her employer? The element of risk involved would likely be seen as outweighing the benefits from hiring such a person.

Both of the examples here could have been handled more diplomatically by the interviewees. Specifically:

• • Re-Assess the Facts: If Stacey had looked at the situation again, she could have extracted the facts and used them to explain her departure. For example, in response to Lenore's final question, Stacey could have said, “Having seen the ‘writing on the wall’ with employees being downsized in every department after the company's merger and re-structuring, I realized I needed to begin a full-time job search immediately. To accommodate that planning, I did give two-weeks’ notice and put in full-time hours until I left.”
• • Re-Frame the Situation: Rather than highlighting the conflict in a situation, draw out the positives and what you learned; then look for common ground for agreement with the interviewer. For example, Maggie could have said, “I believe my former employer would agree that I learned a lot in my last recruiting position that has made me a well-rounded recruiter, especially in online talent sourcing and group presentations to potential candidates. One of the major lessons I learned had to do with ethical recruiting practices. I place high importance on ethics and transparency in recruiting. What is your view on ethics and recruiting?” By taking this stance, Maggie would have positioned herself as taking the “high ground” and probed for agreement. Thus, even if the VP discovered the successful lawsuit against her former employer, it could be interpreted against the background of her positively stated explanation.

The bottom line is to keep any bad-mouthing and name-calling out of the interview, no matter how much you disliked your last boss, company, or co-worker. Harsh and negative personal judgments can only make you look bad. Likewise, re-framing a negative situation to extract learning points can impress an employment reviewer with your tact, professionalism, and positive attitude.