Job Interview: Look for a Bad Boss's Web of Dysfunction
"While we spend most of our interview energy worrying about how to be the candidate of choice, we forget that we have a choice of our own to make: our next boss…'too often, we get caught up in an attitude of 'pick me, pick me, pick me,' when we really should be giving more thought to whether a place is right for us…'"
So true! If you've ever gotten caught up in a bidding war at an online auction and spent more than you wanted just to win, then you know how easy it is to lose perspective. When applying for a job, the same thing can happen. Getting the job is not always a win. It's easy to get a job with a bad boss because bad bosses look for signs that you're too weak to challenge them. Going into an interview with the attitude that you'll do whatever it takes to win (get the job) is a weakness; it makes you come across to a bad boss as someone who's easily manipulated and more likely to support her or his inappropriate behavior.
What's the alternative? Set your sights on finding right job for you. Recognize that a job interview is a two-way process—you are an interviewer just as much as you are an interviewee--you are there to get just as much information about your potential boss and employer as the boss is to get information about her or his potential new employee.
You want a boss who gets excited about your interest and is impressed by your ability to think clearly and get the information you need to make a sound career decision. Question anything you don't understand or that sounds unreasonable, illogical or incomplete. If you sense that you have to read between the lines to get the real message, try to get unspoken information stated explicitly. If the boss is uncomfortable with your interview techniques, run!
The book "Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Boss? 13 Types and How to Survive Them" explains how to spot a bad boss during an interview and tells you what questions to ask to confirm your suspicion. Not getting tangled up in a bad boss's web of dysfunction is a career win.
So true! If you've ever gotten caught up in a bidding war at an online auction and spent more than you wanted just to win, then you know how easy it is to lose perspective. When applying for a job, the same thing can happen. Getting the job is not always a win. It's easy to get a job with a bad boss because bad bosses look for signs that you're too weak to challenge them. Going into an interview with the attitude that you'll do whatever it takes to win (get the job) is a weakness; it makes you come across to a bad boss as someone who's easily manipulated and more likely to support her or his inappropriate behavior.
What's the alternative? Set your sights on finding right job for you. Recognize that a job interview is a two-way process—you are an interviewer just as much as you are an interviewee--you are there to get just as much information about your potential boss and employer as the boss is to get information about her or his potential new employee.
You want a boss who gets excited about your interest and is impressed by your ability to think clearly and get the information you need to make a sound career decision. Question anything you don't understand or that sounds unreasonable, illogical or incomplete. If you sense that you have to read between the lines to get the real message, try to get unspoken information stated explicitly. If the boss is uncomfortable with your interview techniques, run!
The book "Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Boss? 13 Types and How to Survive Them" explains how to spot a bad boss during an interview and tells you what questions to ask to confirm your suspicion. Not getting tangled up in a bad boss's web of dysfunction is a career win.
