We can’t say it enough when offering advice to both candidates and clients – image and first impressions are KEY. So, it can be a shock and quite off-putting when you experience a high level of the “unprofessional” that you didn’t expect in an interview.
The Scenario…
You’ve walked into an interview, you’re well-dressed, prepped, excited, slightly nervous but ready to try and knock the socks off the person you’re hoping will give you a new job BUT… they are clearly not so into the process.
The person sitting across from you is a mix of rude, disinterested, messy, abrupt, poorly dressed or all of the above. Maybe they’re having a bad day, have deadlines this interview is interfering with or just don’t really care a great deal.
Whatever the case? They’ve thrown you a bit off your game.
So, what do you do?
You stay professional. Yes, I hear you saying, this is easier said than done but if you’re still interested in the role even after the interviewer’s poor attitude, maintaining your cool is imperative.
Take a deep breath and try to react in the interview as you had prepped yourself to do. Answer all questions professionally and politely showing yourself to the best advantage.
Why?
You don’t know the back story of why the interviewer is acting the way they are.
It might be that they had to step in for someone else at the last minute or are truly just having a bad day. Either way, if you impress them regardless, you might just find that your second interaction with the company is entirely different.
If it’s not? It is your prerogative to walk away. Simple as that. But it isn’t worth throwing away a potentially good opportunity without knowing if your first unprofessional impression was accurate or just you catching someone at a bad time on a bad day.