Regardless of how bad you need the job, there are times when you realize your job interview is simply going nowhere. When that happens, it’s time to cut your losses, make the appropriate apologies and leave. Better that than to hang around, lose energy and waste your time and the interviewer’s. So what are some clues that you should bail out? Some telltale signs.
The Eating Interviewer
You enter the interview office and you smell food—garlic, salad dressing, cheese or some other pungent aroma. The interviewer tells you she missed lunch and asks if you mind if she “catches up” during the interview. She whips out your resume, staining it with her oily fingers and begins the interview in sentences as chopped up as the salad she’s woofing down. Time to leave. Or at the very least reschedule. If the interviewer is that busy, she should schedule fewer interviews, get to work earlier or work weekends like you used to.
The Salary Grind Down
Rather than talk about your accomplishments, your experience or what the job entails, the interviewer tries to grind you down on the salary. Or worse yet, mentions a salary that’s half of what you were making at your last job (even though the ad you responded to stated a much higher salary). You sense the “disconnect” and you realize the employer is just bargain hunting for a warm body to fill the position.
The Endless Wait
Your interview was scheduled for 3 p.m. and it’s now 3:30. You can hear the interviewer on the phone, laughing or chatting about his or her vacation, a party, or football game. Even the receptionist is embarrassed and keeps offering you coffee, a snack and a litany of apologies. You wait another 15 minutes when the next candidate shows up for his interview. Time to offer your apologies and leave.
The Sexually Inappropriate Interview
Male or female, if the interviewer “steps over the line” and starts getting personal about how hot you look or how you like to party, it’s time to leave. Any physical contact other than a handshake is taboo in this day of hyper harassment awareness.
For an added perspective, check out this video:
Got any thoughts on interviews you wish you could avoid? Include your comments in the section below.
Alex A. Kecskes has written hundreds of published articles on health/fitness, "green" issues, TV/film entertainment, restaurant reviews and many other topics. As a former Andy/Belding/One Show ad agency copywriter, he also writes web content, ads, brochures, sales letters, mailers and scripts for national B2B and B2C clients. Please see more of his blogs and view additional job postings on Nexxt.
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