No matter how much you study and prepare before an interview, something could always go wrong. It could be a fault from your end such as you got caught in traffic, you wrote down the time wrong or you said something you’d rather have left out. On the other hand it could be a mistake from the interviewer’s side such as they’re dominating the conversation, asking pointless questions, distracted by a work-related emergency. Whatever it is, it’s always wise to have some contingency plans in place to help repair a disastrous interview. Here are some winning tips from Adzuna HQ:
Lateness
Even if you are the most organised person on the planet and practiced numerous dry-runs to see how long it would take to get to the interview, you cannot predict for a transport disaster. If you know you’re going to be late, make sure you call or email ahead to pre-warm the interviewer that you’re running behind schedule due to unexpected circumstances. Unless you’re Bruce Almighty there is zero that can be done about this and interviewers will appreciate your attempt to fore warn them of your tardiness.
Inexperienced Interviewer
If the interviewer seems like they don’t know what they’re doing and not asking the right questions it is a good idea to try to take some sense of control without undermining them. In this scenario, try to bring the conversation around to cover topics you weren’t asked about. “Perhaps I can tell you about a similar scenario I’ve been involved in and how the problem was addressed.” Alternatively you can ask the interviewer questions in order to get the conversation flowing towards a topic you really want to discuss. “What are some of the main challenges to the job?” As they begin to tell you, you can jump in with examples of how you are well suited to this.
Bad Questions
If the interviewer throws a question out of left-field that you weren’t expecting or have no prepared answer for, don’t panic and just answer as best you can. There may be no right or wrong answer. They might just be testing how you react to unexpected events.
If all else fails…
Thank goodness for the thank you note. Even the worst interviews can be salvaged by a well writen, personalized thank-you note. This is where you can reiterate and highlight important points that you felt weren’t made in the actual interview or didn’t come across as you would have hoped. It will the be last thing in their mind when they think about you so make sure it’s a good-un.
These easy tips can turn an disaster-piece into a masterpiece and remember we can learn from each mistake. It will only make you a stronger candidate.