True story. I was interviewing this guy for a role in our team today. He had a great resume and seemed perfectly qualified for the job. I asked him the last question on my list - something like “Describe a tough situation at work and how you dealt with it”
This guy started talking about a bad experience he had with his ex-manager. And he got so angry while talking that he just lost control and started giving gaalis to his manager. And this, ladies and gentlemen, during a frickin job interview!! When I picked up my jaw from the floor, all I could manage to do was mumble a thank you and flee from there
interviewers really can behave in awkward manner too just to test you !
I remember I once got interviewed by a company .. when I went in , there was no chair there for me .. I looked around and purely out of instinct, this is what I did :
Ensured my focus didnt move away from the interviewers so I did a firm handshake
Asked to be excused for a quick second to grab a chair
Opened the door and pulled the chair in that was lying right next to the door
Carried on with the conversation like nothing happened ...
In my heart , this is what was going on :
- "what freaks .. they couldnt even keep a chair here "
- Concentrate buddy concentrate , I hope I am not looking confused .. why on earth did they forget to keep a chair , how embarassing ..
but then , after the first few minutes of the interview , one of the ladies told me that I had done well for the most important requirement of the role ..which was quick thinking with confidence and ability to find a solution on my own !
I was shocked ! but then many months later once I was at a HR training and this chair example came up and I learnt that most candidates come in looking so positive and confident but they loose both traits when they see that they have no where to sit and they just get confused even further totally losing the focus from the people sitting there .. they even forget to ask the right questions like " you wouldnt mind excusing me , to grab a chair please? " ..
So yeah that was a high pressure interview for me !
apple, many big corporations are trying to see the true skills and behaviour of the candidate at the first interview stage.. and its really easy for some people to conceal themselves , while others who look extremely confident but may not have the required skill set for the specific role ..
So, to bring the real capabilities out, companies are designing intervew formats that will help them see through the candidates as throughly as possible in the first meeting .. its getting very competitive , I tell you ..
