Once in a while you’ll have a horrible job interview where you’re thinking “I could never do this job if they offered it to me, so why am I sitting here?” You have to decide for yourself whether to stay in a situation like that, or politely excuse yourself and leave.
There is a polite way to leave a job interview before it’s over.
To do that, wait until the interviewer asks you a question — or, if the interviewer drones on and on without a pause, gently interrupt him or her with “Just a quick question, and my apology for the interjection” – and then say “You know, you’ve been so helpful explaining the job to me and I really appreciate it.
“I can see that it’s not a great fit and I would hate to take up any more of your time, so I’ll be going. Thanks again!” Keep a smile on your face as you rise from your chair. Extend your hand for a handshake. Then scram!
If the interviewer is rude and dismissive, you might find it very easy to hit the road. Don’t listen to fearful people who tell you “Maybe the recruiter is a jerk, but maybe the job is great” because great companies don’t hire jerk recruiters.
If they are so asleep at the wheel that they let a talent-repelling toad screen candidates, then they don’t deserve you.
If you can tell in the interview that you’re interested in the job and it might be a good fit for you, then don’t sabotage yourself by saying something out of place. Here are five things I never want you to say in a job interview.
I’m sure I’m the right person for the job.
You don’t work in the company. You know about yourself, but you don’t know much about them, and the job ad does not contain the most important or salient information.
Let them decide who’s perfect for the job. Don’t say “I’m exactly the right person for this job!” because it sounds very ignorant and unprofessional.
I just need a chance.
Everyone needs a chance, but don’t say “I jut need a chance!” on a job interview. No one is going to hire you because they feel sorry for you — and would you want them to?
They’re going to hire you when they believe that you understand what they’re dealing with and you can walk in and figure things out and make a positive contribution right away.
You’re not a job-search charity case! You’re not asking for sympathy or a handout. Figure out which jobs you can pursue confident in the knowledge that you can help the department manager right away, and then bite your lip any time you’re tempted to say “Just give me a chance!”
I’d love to have you for my boss.
Sometimes when we are starved for affirmation and our mojo fuel tank gets low, we can fall into dangerous patterns. Good interviewers get into substantive conversations on job interviews. They don’t read from a script. Their interview conversations can get very deep into philosophical and operational topics, and those conversations tend to be a lot of fun.
If you are sitting on your side of the desk thinking “Geez, I’d love to work for this person!” don’t say so. Any manager who interviews people in an intellectually stimulating way has heard “I’d love to work for you!” a million times before.
You will not grow your credibility, but rather hurt it, by telling the manager how badly you want to work for him or her. Every manager has problems.
Talk about your understanding of your manager’s Business Pain instead of how fun it would be for you to work for him or her!
If I got this job, I’d work any hours at all. I’d work all day and night!
Here is another unfortunate way that job-seekers grovel and beg for a job. It’s not only unseemly to promise to sacrifice your personal life for a chance at a job, but it also diminishes your credibility in the eyes of whoever’s interviewing you.
Confident people don’t beg, and they certainly don’t say “I’d work night and night at this job!” Your value is not in the contact between your tush and your office chair.
Your value is in your brilliance and creativity, and you’ll demonstrate those two attributes in your thoughtful questions more than in any statement or promise you might make.
I’ve already done this type of job numerous times.
Every person, every job-seeker, every manager and every organization is different in critical ways from every other. Don’t tell an interviewer “I’ve done this exact same job umpteen times.” Inquire about what’s different in this particular organization, instead.
Ask them what they care about and what they’re focusing on right now. Don’t assume that you know their biggest priorities, or how to solve their problems.
The best solutions are formulated in context. Just because you’ve set up eight different payroll functions doesn’t mean that you can walk in and find the perfect payroll solutions for these folks.
You and they will arrive at the best answer together, incorporating local conditions and the company’s culture strongly into the mix.
We can be tempted to say at at job interview “I could do this job in my sleep!” but a job you could do in your sleep doesn’t deserve your talents anyway. Go to the interview and learn about new people and their new perspective on the world. If the match is a good one, you and they will know it!
<Source: forbes.com>
