ANY JOB CANDIDATES create a perception in their mind that the hiring manager did not like them and therefore did not choose to hire them. Prior to the interview they often times create a scenario in their heads that the interview they are about to go on will turn out to be their worst nightmare come true.
It’s almost if they have convinced themselves that whatever can go wrong will go wrong aka Murphy’s Law. The problem with all of this is that the hiring manager needs to hire somebody and given the right interviewee who is qualified and prepared the chances of being selected for hire increase greatly. The ability to turn the interviewer’s negatives into your positives is a core skill you must master to pass any interview.
The common theme I hear is that the hiring manager did not like you and that you are not quite sure what you did to him or her to make that so. To start with getting that paranoid thought process out of your head! If you showed up late, unprepared, etc. your interviewer may have some initial negative feelings about you, but you have the chance to take those negatives and give a virtuoso interview performance.
Let’s back-up for a moment and examine who or what is a hiring manager. Yes, job title pretty much gives away the function but still does not answer the question who he or she is. The answer is that they are people. They have lives outside of work which may be causing them stress resulting in a difficult interview persona. It could be any number of things that give off that aura of toughness but the fact is you have to read their keys.
A simple statement after a late interview start that sounds like “my boss wanted to see me, an unexpected meeting, emergency to take care and on.” Your interviewer has just told they are feeling frazzled. A sympathetic understanding statement coupled with a warm “I’ve had those days to” will go a long way. You are now not a candidate but possible somebody the “hiring manager” can confide in. You have made a friend! Friends hire friends.
Going back to the not liking you part, stop and consider the nature of the company is that they hire tough people due to a demanding culture. Your interview will reflect that and so will the next one. Once again read your keys and listen for the “sounds” of the office around you. Notice the employees. The “sights and sounds” will educate you as to decide if this is the right place for you to hang your coat.
So, we are past the not liking stage but now we are in the confused stage as we are really not past the liking or disliking stage. There is still that lingering doubt. In general, if you left your interview feeling confused about a different subject somehow the interview got away from you. You and the “hiring manager” just did not communicate with each other.
Who Is This Hiring Manager? Who Is This Hiring Manager? Who Is This Hiring Manager? I am emphasizing and re-emphasizing this is the key that unlocks the door. Your job is to find that key, no matter what strategy or methodology (within reason) it takes. Be they hard to read or easy to readjust find that key. The tougher the interviewer is the more easily you can learn how to find the key that opens the proverbial door to that job you really want.
This may be a daunting task for some but those who know how to persevere in these situations stand a better chance of having a successful interview.
If you are the Hiring Manager it would be unprofessional for me to tell you how to best do your job.
Projecting that culture in your organization goes a long way. Interviews should never be easy. But, by the same token, if too many candidates are taking personal offense to some of the questions being asked perhaps it is time to reexamine the information you are trying to collect and the manner in which it is being collected.
All too often, too many good to great candidates wind up in the waiting arms of another employer (at a lower salary than what you were offering) as they were given a feeling of indifference or that there are more out there like them. A company that treats employees as replaceable parts will one day need to replace key cogs in their corporate machine.
So, you may still feel like nobody loves you or cares about you. Guess what the person on the other side of the desk may feel the same way as you do. Get over it and get with it! Both of you have to come to the same conclusion which is either yes or no.
