The 4 Worst Things that Can Happen in a Job Interview -- And How to Handle Them with Grace

By Dominique Rodgers

Monster Contributing Writer

 

Most people, at one time or another, will endure a job interview that feels more like a comedic dream sequence than a serious professional experience. Everything that can go wrong will, and you’ll just have to find a way to wrap things up as quickly and gracefully as possible.

 

How do you exit these nightmarish scenarios with your dignity intact? Better yet, how do you potentially save the interview and still get the job? Read on to find out.

You're late 

 

“Even if you leave yourself plenty of time to get to the interview, there is always the possibility that there may be an accident on the road or that there is construction that you were not anticipating,” says Cheryl Palmer, owner of Call to Career, an executive coaching and resume writing service.

 

If you’ll be late, call the interviewer’s office as soon as you know. He or she may want to reschedule or may be willing to wait a few extra minutes.

You have a wardrobe malfunction

 

In case you needed another reason to be on time, consider this: You may need time to change clothes. LegalAdvice.comMarketing Coordinator Patricia Campbell once had someone knock an entire cup of coffee onto her outfit while she was on the way to an interview. Luckily, she had about 40 minutes to spare and was able to run into a store, purchase another outfit, change and still make it on time.

 

Anna Aquino once showed up to an interview in super-high heels, only to be taken on a very uncomfortable walking tour of the facility. The author and guest speaker says she had to apologize to her interviewer for not being able to keep up because her heels were pinching so badly. Eventually she just took them off and held them for the rest of the walk.

 

The interviewer laughed about it,” she says. “I got the job. I think he appreciated the fact I was real about the situation.”

Your technology fails

 

There’s not much point in doing a video interview if no one can hear you, the video keeps freezing or the interviewer only gets a closeup of your nostrils. If this happens, you end up wasting everyone’s time and there’s a chance they’ll postpone or cancel the interview.

 

Plus, it makes you look unprepared and unprofessional, says Chris Brown, director of human resources at Web and video conferencing provider InterCall. If it happens, deal with the glitches as quickly as possible without showing frustration.

 

To keep it from happening, however, test your equipment beforehand. “The best thing you can do is ask one of your friends or family members to do a test run,” Brown advises. “This will allow you to check all aspects of your system and determine if everything is working OK. The person on the other end can also tell you if you are making any errors, such as moving your head out of view, talking too loudly, etc.”

Your body rebels

 

Erik Bowitz sweats during stressful interviews. The senior resume expert at Resume Genius says his clothes and the temperature of the room don’t matter, he’ll always sweat buckets. Since carrying a towel wouldn’t be professional, he combats the problem by asking the interviewer questions.

 

“Whenever I feel myself beginning to sweat, I simply double down on the pressure and begin asking my interviewers questions,” says Bowitz. “By turning the tables and putting them on the spot I alleviate the pressure from myself and can cool down.”

 

Recruiter Mark Phillips of Sanford Rose Associates once had a candidate go into mild hypoglycemic shock because of running a marathon the previous day. At that point, what can you do besides acknowledge the situation, make the best of it, and move on?

 

This type of emotional intelligence is what Phillips advises in almost all interview disasters. He says, “Acknowledge the error. Name it. Apologize. Offer explanations without being defensive. The key is to be as ego-less as possible and engage the interviewer on the topic in the moment.”

Resource: monster.com