Posted by denised in 
On Monday I shared part I of, You Might be Getting a Bad Boss if… The first signs of trouble during the interview included a position on a revolving door, the interviewer asking loaded questions, and making contradictory statements. In part 2 I tackle rudeness, lateness and unpreparedness.
You might be getting a bad boss if during your interview, the interviewer…
3. Is rude – As with all good-bad boss stories, this one is personal. I’d applied for a job online and the instructions stated that upon successful transmission of the application, a confirmation email would be sent. Well after submitting the application the first time and waiting 24 hours, no confirmation email ever showed up (yes, I checked my junk mail folder.) When the same thing happened with the second submission, I submitted the application a third time. This time I did receive a confirmation email, and a week later a phone call requesting an interview.
During the interview (that took all of about 15 minutes), the interviewer snared “Did you know you submitted your application THREE TIMES?!” When I explained that I hadn’t received a confirmation email for the first two submissions, she actually tsked, tsked! If that weren’t enough, she and the other woman who interviewed me, spent much of the 15 minutes acting as though I was wasting their time. I left the interview feeling disgusted with them and discouraged about my job search. So imagine my surprise when a couple of weeks later, after first sending a letter stating that I hadn’t gotten the job, the same interviewer called to offer me the position. Although I was currently in a job I hated, I felt I had no choice but to decline. If the women who would have become my colleagues couldn’t muster up enough “niceness” to be cordial during the interview, I couldn’t imagine what they’d be like to work for.
4. Is late – I understand that things happen. Meetings run late, emergencies arise and sometimes lateness can’t be avoided. But, if an interviewer keeps you waiting for half an hour or more, and is unapologetic upon his arrival, that might be a sign of someone who takes his employees for granted. In general, people who are perpetually late don’t value other people’s time as much as they do their own. And while there’s no way to tell from one late starting interview if you’re dealing with someone who values his time more than yours, if they’re unapologetic, that’s a sure sign that you are. Working for, or reporting to someone who’s always late often means working in an environment where there will always be a lack of organization and a lot of last minute rushing.
5. Is unprepared – I once sat through the first 10 minutes of an interview watching my interviewer shuffle through papers. Once he was done with that, he proceeded to read me someone else’s resume. In another interview when I asked about critical details of the position, my interviewer was unable to respond and didn’t offer to get the answers for me.
Unpreparedness, much like a perpetually late interviewer, points to a lack of planning and organization on someone’s part. If you’re being interviewed by someone in HR, who you won’t be reporting to, you might be wondering what’s the big deal? The big deal is, management that hires unprepared, unorganized people is equally unprepared and unorganized.
Just like we’ve got to put our best face forward for the interview, if the company’s best face is a late, unprepared or rude interviewer, then regardless of how good things may look on paper, if you accept a job offer, you might be in for a bumpy ride.
Next week: The conclusion of “You might be getting a bad boss if…”
