An aggressive candidate or a nervous job seeker?

Earlier today, I was reading a how-to book for hiring managers and recruiters, and it brought me back to a situation I had encountered in one of my previous jobs. The chapter I was reading discussed ways of dealing with an aggressive interviewee and suggested that a hiring manager should not automatically discard such an individual’s candidacy. It suggested that an arrogant demeanor could simply mean a person’s way of covering up his or her nerves and interview jitters. I am not so sure I buy it!

I was once helping a manager recruit my direct report. During our selection process, we met a contender who hardly answered any of my questions, constantly looked away and nearly sighed in exasperation every few minutes. Following the meeting and during debrief with my manager, I suggested that the candidate was definitely not a fit for the role. My manager, however, offered a different explanation: “She is a fantastic candidate. She simply didn’t like you!” Naturally this made me wonder. Is an interviewee ever justified in being rude or even simply impolite during the interview process? Can someone fail miserably during the interview, yet be a great hire?

Here is my conclusion. Some people are naturally fantastic interviewees. They automatically click with the person on the other side of the table and give excellent answers to every question asked of them. Does it mean they are necessarily a great hire? No. And I have seen examples of that many times. On the other hand, I have met candidates who were so painfully shy and uncomfortable that I could hardly get two sentences out of them. Nonetheless, they had outstanding references and were among the best I ever placed.

However, in my opinion, there is a line you do not cross. Since the interview is at the very least a small window into your personality and soft skill set, any sight of aggression is an automatic red flag. If you raise your voice, roll your eyes, sigh loudly or use inappropriate language, who is to guarantee that you will not exhibit the same traits when on the job?  If you cover up your nerves by being rude or if you allow your personal impressions of your interviewer get in the way of acceptable behavior, it should definitely be a concern for the hiring manager. There is place for confidence in the workplace; there is place for those that are shy; there is place for both outgoing employees and those that are introverted. Unprofessional and aggressive interviewees, however? I will stay away from those and will keep them away from my clients!

Oh, and my direct report we had hired? Major flop.

How to handle the question about your salary expectations!

At some point during the interview process, the interviewer will ask how much you expect to be making in your new position. Such a simple and straightforward question, yet a great many jobseekers (junior and senior-level professionals alike) stumble and are unsure how to handle it. My only advice is: be honest!

Most sites recommend withholding your salary expectations and doing all you can to have the employer name a number first. I am quite certain that most people who have conducted interviews will disagree! There are few things more painful to an interviewer than asking a potential hire what their salary expectations are and receiving a vague answer. For example, if you follow advice provided on www.quintcareers.com, a career development site, your answer to a salary question would be: "I applied for this position because I am very interested in the job and your company, and I know I can make an immediate impact once on the job, but I'd like to table salary discussions until we are both sure I'm right for the job." Well, first of all, you would sound ineloquent repeating the word 'job' three times in the same sentence. But more importantly, who wants to go through the entire interview process only to find out that the selected candidate is out of the company’s budgeted salary range? Same holds true for you!  How excited would you be to find out, after going through a long and gruelling interview process, that you wasted your time on a position that pays 50% of your actual remuneration target?

Job seekers are hesitant to name their salary expectations for two reasons – either undervaluing themselves and not receiving the maximum salary they could or naming a number too high and being disqualified from the running altogether.  If you are afraid that your expectations might be too high for the role in question, yet you are flexible, be honest! Tell the interviewer that although you are ideally targeting X, you could be negotiable since you are truly interested in the role. This affirms your expectations, yet does not close the door in case you are off mark in terms of salary. I would also recommend being honest even if you are afraid your expectations are lower than the potential maximum offered for the position. If you are really interested in the job but are concerned that you are selling yourself short, do some research and once again be honest! State what your absolute minimum salary expectations are, yet do mention that you know that other professionals in the field make a higher amount (be specific) or that you are in the running for positions that pay more (once again be precise) and that ideally you would like Y. When you are specific and honest, you will really stand out from other applicants who try to be purposefully vague and come across as unsure of what they want!

Answer to one of the most frequent questions we get from candidates: “What do I say my strengths and weaknesses are?”

One of the most typical questions interviewers ask is to name your strengths and your weaknesses. Surprisingly, I hear time and time again that candidates dread this question and are often unsure how to handle it. However, keeping in mind that your chances of having to answer this question during an interview are extremely high, you can think of a strong answer in advance instead of trying to come up with something on the spot.

Back at school, our interview coach gave us examples of potential adjectives one can use as “strengths" – self-motivated, dynamic, proactive, autonomous, team player. ZZZZzzzzz... I cannot even count how many times I have heard all of these. Her advice on handling the question regarding one’s weaknesses? Taking an actual positive and positioning it as a negative. “I take on too much. I am too responsible. I am a perfectionist.” It may sound cliché, but if I had a dollar for every time I heard one of these, I would be rich.

Here is my advice. Think of your actual strengths! They do not have to be over-used adjectives, but can rather be examples of your achievements. Those are specific to each individual and vary by industry. Here are a few examples. A salesperson can stress his or her lack of fear when looking for new business and provide an example of how s/he increased bottom line in the past. A marketing specialist can provide an example of his (or her) superior analytical skills and back it up by giving an example of how this can be relevant to the potential employer. You are the best judge of what your unique professional traits and skills are – provide them as examples of your strengths.

Personally, I much prefer the term “areas to improve” to “weaknesses”. I recommend that my candidates think of what their areas to improve actually are and talk about them. This demonstrates that you are self aware and that, no matter what you mention, it is possible for you to continue working on it. In Quebec, one of the most common areas to improve is one’s grammar in either English or French. Additionally, you can list the areas in which you would like to gain further experience (it can be industry exposure, specific tasks, supervisory experience) or education.  

What makes you stand out from the rest is you – your unique background and your unique aspirations. Talk about these and the hiring manager is sure to remember you!