5 Ways to Spot a Bad Boss In An Interview

Stephanie Taylor Christensen, Contributor Forbes.com

A boss can literally, make or break your career. Here are five ways to spot the bad ones before they become yours.

A great boss can make you feel engaged and empowered at work, will keep you out of unnecessary office politics, and can identify and grow your strengths. But a bad boss can make the most impressive job on paper (and salary) quickly unbearable. Not only will a bad boss make you dislike at least 80% of your week, your relationships might suffer, too. A recent study conducted at Baylor University found that stress and tension caused by an abusive boss “affects the marital relationship and subsequently, the employee’s entire family.” Supervisor abuse isn’t always as blatant as a screaming temper tantrum; it can include taking personal anger out on you for no reason, dismissing your ideas in a meeting, or simply, being rude and critical of your work, while offering no constructive ways to improve it.  Whatever the exhibition of bad boss behavior, your work and personal life will suffer. Merideth Ferguson, PH.D., co-author of the study and assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at Baylor explains that “it may be that as supervisor abuse heightens tension in the relationship, the employee is less motivated or able to engage in positive interactions with the partner and other family members.”

There are many ways to try and combat the effects of a bad boss, including confronting him or her directly to work towards a productive solution, suggesting that you report to another supervisor, or soliciting the help of human resources.  But none of those tactics gurantee improvement, and quite often, they’ll lead to more stress. The best solution is to spot a bad boss—before they become yours! Here are five ways to tell whether your interviewer is a future bad boss.

1. Pronoun usage. Performance consultant John Brubaker says that the top verbal tell a boss can gives is in pronoun choice and the context it is used. If your interviewer uses the term “you” in communicating negative information ( such as, “you will deal with a lot of ambiguity”), don’t expect the boss to be a mentor.  If the boss chooses the word “I” to describe the department’s success—that’s a red flag.  If the interviewer says “we” in regards to a particular challenge the team or company faced, it may indicate that he or she deflects responsibility and places blame.

2. Concern with your hobbies. There is a fine line between genuine relationship building, and fishing for information, so use your discretion on this one. If you have an overall good impression of the potential boss it may be that he or she is truly interested in the fact that you are heavily involved in charity work, and is simply getting to know you. On the other hand, the interviewer may be trying to determine whether you have too many commitments outside of work. The interviewer can’t legally ask if you are married, or have kids, so digging into your personal life can be a clever way to understand just how available you are.

3. They’re distracted. The era of email, BlackBerrys and smartphones have made it “okay” for people to develop disrespectful communication habits in the name of work. Particularly in a frenzied workplace, reading email while a person is speaking, multi-tasking on conference calls and checking the message behind that blinking BlackBerry mid-conversation has become the norm of business communications. But, regardless of his or her role in the company, the interviewer should be striving to make a good impression—which includes shutting down tech tools to give you undivided attention. If your interviewer is glancing at emails while you’re speaking, taking phone calls, or late to the interview, don’t expect a boss who will make time for you.

4. They can’t give you a straight answer. Caren Goldberg, Ph.D. is an HR professor at the Kogod School of Business at American University. She says a key “tell” is vague answers to your questions. Listen for pauses, awkwardness, or overly-generic responses when you inquire what happened to the person who held the position you are interviewing for, and/or what has created the need to hire. (For example, if you are told the person was a “bad fit,” it may indicate that the workplace doesn’t spend much time on employee-development, and blames them when things don’t work out).

You should also question turnover rates, how long people stay in given roles, and what their career path has been. All of these answers can indicate not only if the boss is one people want to work for, but whether pay is competitive, and employees are given a career growth plan.

5. They’ve got a record. Ask the potential boss how long he or she has been at the company, in the role, and where he or she worked before coming to it to get a feel for his or management style, and whether it’s what you respond to.  For example, bosses making a switch from a large corporation to a small company may lead with formality. On the other hand, entrepreneurs tend to be passionately involved in business, which can be a help or a hindrance, depending on your workstyle.

Goldberg also recommends searching the site eBossWatch, where you read reviews that former employees have given to a boss. If you’re serious about the position, she also suggests reaching to the former employee whose spot you are interviewing for, and asking for their take on the workplace. (LinkedIn makes this task easy to do). The former employee’s recount may not necessarily reflect your potential experience, but it can help you to determine whether his or her description of the job and company “jibes” with what the potential boss said.

“Unemployment discrimination” and the jobless
By: Elaine Quijano (CBS News)

Of the 14 million Americans currently unemployed, 6 million have been jobless for more than 6 months.

CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano reports that many job seekers say being unemployed is being held against them.

Delores Barnes always goes job hunting armed with her dossier of documents, including her birth certificate.

Two years ago, she was laid off from her supervisor job with New York’s Children’s Services. Ever since, Barnes has been looking for work to support her and her nine-year-old daughter, Savianna “I can’t give up. I’m on a mission. I have a daughter, and she’s like, I have to be strong for her. I have to show her that you just don’t give up,” Barnes says.

Yet no amount of persistence can overcome the simple fact that some employers don’t want to hire the unemployed. In job posting after job posting, companies require that applicants “must be currently employed.”

“They have that perception that they are the dead weight, therefore they want the strong people who are currently employed,” says Robert Krzak, president of Gecko Hospitality.

Krzak says some companies won’t even consider unemployed job candidates.
“If there is a candidate out there who has been out there in the job market for six months or even a year or more than a year, a lot of companies are very suspect of that, because why aren’t they working?” Krzak says.

“It’s discriminatory and the fact that just because you don’t have a job you can’t compete for a job,” says Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. DeLauro is sponsoring a bill aimed at stopping the practice.

“These are competent people. They have lost their job through no fault of their own,

Why shouldn’t they have an opportunity?” DeLauro says.
Barnes says the practice doesn’t make sense, hiring people who have jobs when so many don’t.

Barnes is now training to be a computer technician, and says she’ll keep pounding the pavement, even though with some companies she can’t even get her foot in the door.

By Alison Doyle, About.com Guide

You’ve done it! You passed the first interview with flying colors and you just got a call to schedule a second interview. What happens next? How can you use a second interview as a means to get a job offer? It’s important to be aware that the company is seriously interested in you, or they wouldn’t have called. You are definitely in contention for the job! Here are suggestions on how to use your second job interview to help secure an offer.

Second Interview Tips

Get the Agenda
Sometimes, a second interview can be a day-long interview. You may meet with management, staff members, executives, and other company employees. Ask the person who scheduled the interview for an itinerary, so, you know upfront what to expect.

For example, at Microsoft the second interview process involves meeting with people from different product groups. Candidates usually meet with four or five people who are geared to provide an idea of what it’s really like to work for Microsoft.

Research, Research, Research
Learn everything you can about the company. Review the About Us section of the company web site. Use Google and Google News (search by company name) to get the latest information and news. Visit Message Boards to research what’s being discussed. If you have a connection, use it to get some insider information on management and staff, as well as the company in general.

Review Interview Questions and Answers
You may be asked the same questions you were asked during the first interview. So, review the questions you will be asked and brush up your responses. Like the first time around, it’s good to take some time to practice interviewing, so, you are comfortable with your answers.

Dress Professionally
Even if the workplace is casual, until you get the job, you will want to dress in your best interview attire, unless you are told otherwise. If the person scheduling the interview mentions dressing down, business casual attire would typically be most appropriate.

Lunch / Dinner Interviews
When you are scheduled for a full-day of interviewing, lunch and/or dinner may be included on the agenda. Dining with a prospective employee allows the company to review your communication and interpersonal skills, as well as your table manners. It’s important to dine carefully. The last thing you want to do is spill your drink (non-alcoholic, of course) or slop food all over the table. Order appropriately and brush up on your dining skills, and your manners.

What You Didn’t Say
Was there something you thought you should have mentioned during your first interview? Or was there a question you had difficulty with? The second interview will provide you with the opportunity to expand upon your responses from the first interview. Review the notes you took during the first interview, to see what you might have missed talking about and what you can clarify or add.

Ask Questions
When you’re invited to interview a second time, the chances are good that you are in contention for the position. It’s appropriate to ask for a copy of the job description to review, as well as to ask about the organization structure and how you will fit in.

Is There a Fit?
Sometimes, whether a particular job is a good fit is hard to define. I’ve been in a position where I had an uneasy feeling that I really didn’t want the job. It wasn’t anything I could pinpoint specifically, but, it was there. If a voice is telling you you’re that you are not sure about this job, listen to it. You don’t have to turn down the job, but, you can ask for additional meetings with staff, especially the people you are going to be working with, to make sure the job is a good fit for you.

If You Get a Job Offer?
In some cases, you may be offered a job on the spot. You don’t have to say yes, or no, immediately. It actually makes sense not to say yes right away, unless you are 110% sure that you want the job. Everything may seem perfect while you’re there, but, once you have a chance to mull over the offer, and the company, it may not seem as wonderful. Ask for some time to think it over and ask when the company needs a decision by.

Say Thank You
You have, I hope, already sent a thank note to the people you interviewed with the first time. Again, take the time to send a thank you letter (email is fine) to everyone you met with and reiterate your interest in the company and in the position.

Dr. Henry Cloud on “Necessary Endings”

How to Hire Great Employees (Not Great Applicants)

By Mel Kleiman

The Problem with Behavioral Interviewing

Just as typewriters and record players have given way to desktop computers and handheld media players, outmoded employee selection systems need to be reinvented to take advantage of our new understanding of how to select employees in the 21st century.

Although behavioral interviewing was initially developed by industrial psychologists back in the 1970s, it is still in widespread use today. Predictably, during these past 30 years, everyone looking for a job has learned to expect interviewers to ask them about their past behaviors.

Just as we all learned what our teachers wanted to hear from us in school, prospective employees learned to deliver the answers interviewers want to hear. Ask, “Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult customer,” and all but the dullest applicant immediately understands that customer service is paramount and will respond to the question accordingly.

Every job applicant with a basic understanding of the interview process now knows that the most critical interview questions will concern past behaviors. The reason so many unsatisfactory new hire decisions are made is due to the fatal flaw in this system – specific past behaviors during specific past events are all but impossible to document or verify.

The continued reliance on the validity of behavioral questions has led to too many hiring decisions based more on the applicant’s presentation skills rather than on the person’s ability to perform on the job.

Great Employees vs. Great Applicants

Start hiring great employees (instead of great applicants) by shifting the focus from past behaviors to verifiable experiences and achievements. Begin by using an interview built upon the following five, essential questions. (To gain a sense of their effectiveness, as you read each one, ask yourself how you would respond if you were the applicant.)

Essential Question #1: “Tell me what you learned from your very first paying job.”

This is the first question interviewers should ask because our earliest learning experiences set the patterns and expectations for later experiences. (Hiring Hint: The story makes a lot more sense when you hear it from the beginning. Follow this up by asking them to talk briefly about each successive job and what was learned at each.)

Essential Question #2: “Which work achievements or accomplishments to-date are you most proud of?”

The achievements we value most reveal both our strongest character traits and our strongest desires. Identifying these speaks volumes about the kind of employee the applicant can become. (Hiring Hint: The number of achievements or accomplishments is not as important as the motivations that drove it.)

Essential Question #3: “On a scale from zero to ten, how would you rate yourself as a (job title) and why?”

Because we seldom see ourselves as others see do, the specific number is not as important as the fact that you will be able to verify if the applicant’s number is higher, lower, or the same as perceived by the applicants former managers or supervisors when you check references. (Hiring Hint: Would you rather have an employee who undervalues or overvalues their contributions reporting to you?)

Essential Question #4: “When we contact your former manager to verify your employment, what will he or she tell me about your last performance review?”

The answer will tell you a great deal about the applicant’s actual on-the-job performance, ability to take direction, and efforts to improve. (Hiring Hint: Phrased this way, this question will elicit the truth from 99% of applicants. For further verification, if you decide to extend a job offer, then ask for a copy of that review.)

Essential Question #5: “What would you like to ask me about the job or our company?”

The answers to this one reveal the applicant’s concerns and motivators or simply point out basic job information (benefits, hours, policies) that have not yet been communicated. (Hiring Hint: Follow this up by allowing the applicant one or two more questions for even more insight.)

Between Questions #3 and #4, ask all the other questions you’ve developed that help determine if the candidate is a good fit for the job, the department, and the company. After the interview, verify what you learned with this achievement-based interviewing technique through evidence-based selection criteria: thorough reference and background checks.

The further you can move your interviews away from outdated behavioral techniques and toward achievement- and evidence-based selection, the quicker your hiring effectiveness will improve. Like that great philosopher of our time Dilbert said: “Eighty-percent of a manager’s job is hiring the right people. The other 20 percent is leaving them alone so they can do what you hired them for.”

What Gen Y Job Hunters Need to Know

Time … is your friend, not your enemy!

By Kevin Kalstad, CPC  | Gecko Hospitality

In the past 4 weeks I have seen not one, but two great candidates walk away from two great job offers / opportunities. True Story!

Both situations were with different candidates and clients, but in essence it all boiled down to time. In my opinion, the candidate’s lack of patience for the client’s needs cost them these jobs. We tell our candidates that these searches take time! If the job you are interviewing has a larger title and area of responsibility, it will take even more time.

How long might these searches take? From the time we get your resume, to when you might get an offer, these are generally how long these searches might take.

Assistant Manager and or Sous Chef: Six to Eight weeks

Chef and or General Manager: Eight to Twelve weeks.

District or Area Manager: Twelve to Thirty Six weeks.

Bottom –Line?

We would urge you to be patient with the process. We want to place the right candidate, with the right client. More than ever, great companies are truly counting the total cost of each and every new hire they make. Hang in there with us, and we will get you a great job with and excellent company!

Send us your resume today to start the process. We never charge a fee to you, our candidates.

As former outplacement counselors, we created these questions for our clients to practice in advance of their interviewing candidates as part of their interview preparation. These questions should be asked and answered both positively and in job-related terms. This is the first rule of a solid interview process. Try asking yourself some of these interview questions and see how your answers would resonate with you! That will provide you some context to better hiring.

1. Tell me about yourself.

2. Why do you want to work here?

3. What are your strengths?

4. What are your weaknesses?

5. What do you know about us?

6. Why should I hire you?

7. Why did you (or why do you want to) leave your current employer?

8. If you could turn back time and live your life over, what would you do differently?

9. Describe the ideal work environment for you.

10. Tell me about the worst boss you ever had.

11. If you could change one thing about your last (current) job, what would it be?

12. How do you think your coworkers would describe you, both good and bad?

13. How do you think your bosses would describe you, both good and bad?

14. In prior performance reviews, what were your opportunities for improvement?

15. What are your greatest accomplishments so far?

16. Describe yourself in three words.

17. Are you interested in managing or leading others? Why or why not?

18. How do you define success?

19. Besides money, what do you value or need most if you are to have job satisfaction?

20. Have you ever been fired (laid off, outplaced, etc.)? Explain the circumstances.

21. If you gave your last boss a performance review, what would he or she need to change?

22. Do you prefer to work alone or with others? Why?

23. Describe a difficult situation or task that you had to deal with, and how you did so.

24. How do you feel about travel or relocation?

25. Is there anything that would physically or mentally prevent you from performing this job?

26. What other organizations are you pursuing, or are pursuing you?

27. Do you consider yourself to be creative? If so, give some examples.

28. How would you describe your personality?

29. How much are you expecting to earn in this job?

30. How do you feel about incentives, which are heavily tied to performance?

31. How do you feel about psychological tests?

32. How do you feel about drug tests?

33. What are your goals for five years and ten years out?

34. Do you prefer a job with clearly defined tasks, or one that is more self-directed?

35. Do you prefer to work for a man or a woman? Why?

36. How do you feel about working in a diverse workplace (with minorities, for example)?

37. If you could change three things about yourself, what would they be?

38. Do you consider yourself to be a traditionalist? Why or why not?

39. What motivates you?

40. Do you think that people are basically lazy and need to be pushed to perform?

41. Have you ever had to fire someone? Explain why and how you did it.

42. If you could be in your own business, what business would it be?

43. Do you consider yourself to be more of a people person or a taskmaster?

44. What qualities do you think are necessary to be a leader?

45. How long do you anticipate being in this job, or with our organization?

46. Do you believe that success depends more on what you know than on whom you know?

47. How do you perform under stress?

48. Do you keep current in your field? How?

49.  Do you have any role models? If so, who are they, and why are they role models?

50. What more would you like to know about the job, or about this organization?

Excerpted from The Everything HR Kit: A Complete Guide to Attracting, Retaining, and Motivating High-Performance Employees by John Putzier and David Baker. Copyright ^© 2010 John Putzier and David Baker. Published by AMACOM Books, a division of American Management Association, New York, NY. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Will They Stay or Will They Go? (Your Employees, That Is)

June 8th, 2011 :: Rieva Lesonsky

Are your employees going to stay with your business as the economy improves and more job opportunities arise? This is a crucial consideration for small businesses, who can ill afford the time it takes to lose the knowledge of key employees, or to find and train new workers to replace them.

Recent findings from Deloitte’s Talent Edge 2020 survey series, which polled more than 350 employees at large companies worldwide, give some insights into employee attitudes toward the workforce. What interested me about this study is that it’s not just the state of the economy, but the generation of the worker, that is affecting their outlook about their jobs. In other words, employees in different age ranges have different frustrations and needs that will affect whether they stay with their current employers or attempt to leave.

Deloitte found that many companies are failing to address the critical needs and potential frustrations of their employees, and often do not have a realistic picture of how employees see them. Since this survey was targeted at big companies, this means opportunity for your business to address the issues that big firms are not.

The report found that employees aren’t waiting for things to improve—they are already actively testing the job market. Only 35% of employees surveyed expect to remain with their current employers, while nearly two out of three (65%) want to leave their current employers.

What are they looking for? Among employees surveyed who are actively or passively seeking out new employers, 53% say the prospect of job advancement or promotion would convince them to stay with their current employers. But there are some significant differences among generations when it comes to what triggers employees to stay or leave.

Baby Boomers expressed the greatest discontent with their employers. They were frustrated that their loyalty and hard work has been neither recognized nor rewarded. Nearly one-third (32%) of Baby Boomers also cited lack of trust in leadership as a key turnover trigger. In fact, this was their top-ranked reason to leave a job, and the highest percentage of any generation citing this issue.

While Boomers may be unhappy, Generation X employees are the most likely group to actually be considering exit from their current jobs. Only 28% of surveyed Gen Xers say they plan to stay with their current employers. What’s the biggest turnover trigger for them? Lack of career progress, cited by 65%. Generation X is at the time of life when they want to see forward movement.

Millennials’ idea of a good workplace differs sharply from the other generations. They are more likely to consider their employers’ commitment to “corporate responsibility/volunteerism” and a “fun work environment” important.

What do employees think of their workplace? Very few employees described their employers’ overall retention efforts as “world-class” or even “very good.” However, survey results show that employers who make an effort to keep their employees satisfied will be rewarded with employees who are far more likely to remain in their jobs.

Dear Candidates,

Do you stress over taking online assessments? I used to give the Thurstone Test, (110 questions in 20 minutes timed ) for all my candidates.  The test does not care how many questions you get wrong, but rather how many you get right. ………. Many candidates don’t do well on timed assessments because they get stuck on a question or spend too much time on each question, because they want to make sure it is correct…. and then time runs out ….so maybe they only get to answer only a portion of the questions. Lets say you answer up to question number 71 out of 110 questions, so what does that mean? Well that means time runs out and you didn’t answer 39 questions….

If you left 39 questions unanswered, then, you, the candidate has a 0% chance on getting any of those questions right which could be the difference of getting an offer and not getting an offer. So, I suggest that for a timed portion on the test, approach it this way and your chances of getting an offer might increase significantly. Here is the answer to the test!!

•  The goal is to finish the test no matter what… So, if you have a 20 minute timed assessment test, set a timer or your watch to let you know at the 19 minute point,…you only have 1 minute left, and you should stop and just guess at all the remaining questions. Yes, just guess, and make sure there is an answer in each of the questions so you finish the test. The choices are usually A,B, C, D, options and you actually have a 25% chance of getting the answer right on the remaining 39 questions which is better than 0% if they are left unanswered… ( This is based on my experience from the corporate level and the candidate level)

 For candidates that ask me what type of questions they ask on the personality profile test, I am give this scenario as a question to open their mind: ( just an opinion)

Question: 1

 Is it better for a restaurant to have :

1.  Great Food
2.  Great Service
3. Great Location
4. Great Manager

 What would you think? ( no right or wrong answer here ) but here is my answer:

 I get a variety of answers, none of which were my answer. Usually of the candidates that I started asking this to, they say 1) Great Food or 2) great service…. I say great, because they are great answers!! Some candidates have asked me my answer and I tell them there is no right or wrong answer because every company has different skills and expectations that they are looking for……. but my answer would be… 4) a Great Manager

 Candidates say really, why? I say, because in my opinion, if you’re a great manager, you can control what hourly staff gets hired, you can train the cooks to make sure the food  is great, and you can train the servers to give great service. Being a great manager allows you to manage the process.

There is No right or wrong answer here, just different viewpoints to consider prior to taking an assessment…

 Anyway, just sharing some thoughts!!

Best Regards

Chef Dennis