Use tact to rein in distracted interviewer

By Amy Lindgren
Knight Ridder News Service

Uh-oh. You've been in this interview 10 minutes and you have the feeling it's not going well.

You're dressed to kill and your résumé sparkles. But the interviewer keeps calling you by the wrong name and doesn't seem to know much about the job you're seeking. Worse, he has taken two calls and didn't apologize.

Should you leave? Suggest rescheduling? Stick it out?

With one crucial exception, the answer to all three is: It depends. It depends on how much you need the job and how important the interviewer is to the process.

But if the awful interviewer is going to be your boss, lean toward the exit. Why would you want to extend these 10 minutes into a daily experience?

For most awkward interviews, I suggest practical compassion based on the following premises:

• The interviewer wants to hire the right person.
• Although the interviewer is handling the meeting poorly, I can and will provide the information needed to hire me.
• I have worked successfully with people like this in previous jobs. I will use those strategies in this meeting.

I also follow two basic rules of job search: "People hire people they like" and "The job seeker's goal in an interview is to get to the next stage." These rules are crucial in a dud interview because there is a good chance the interviewer is not focused enough to discuss your qualifications.

Don't worry. If you weren't qualified, you wouldn't have gotten in the door. Your task is to connect with this interviewer on a personal level while figuring out the next steps in the hiring process.

In this case, "connecting on a personal level" means treating this person like someone who has at least a few qualities you can admire. Assume the person is worthy of your respect, even if it's only because he or she has authority in this process.

Although every situation will be different, here are a few sample gambits to remember when you find yourself in one of these awkward interviews:

With a laugh: "That's the third time you've called me John. My name is Bob, but I could get used to John. Let me just peek at the rŽsumŽ you've got there to be sure it's mine. I'm pretty proud of my 10 years in this field and I wouldn't want to give someone else credit for them."

"You don't have my résumé? That's OK. I've got an extra one here. If you don't mind, I'd like to tell you the highlights and why I think I'm a good candidate for this job."

"You've been getting a lot of calls this morning. I can tell you've got a lot on your plate. I may be pushing us forward too quickly, but I know that I have good skills to contribute here. Would you like to schedule a meeting later in the week that brings us to the next level? I'd like to start helping out as soon as I can."

As you can see, these tactics are mostly about diplomacy.

Your goal is to keep the conversation focused on the purpose of the meeting while protecting the dignity of both parties. At no point do you want to show impatience or belittle the other person, or you will still be unemployed at the end of the day.

Diplomacy won't always do the trick. If the interviewer isn't paying attention, doesn't write anything down, can't wait to end the meeting, you may be in more trouble than a pack of diplomats could resolve.

If you still want the job, you'll have to get around this person by securing a meeting with someone else in the company.