As you may know Kanye West has made a habit of brash moves that some might consider career suicide, from radically changing up his musical style, to chasing avant-garde fashion and daring to buck rap’s strict macho code. But could one of his most conventional acts of rebellion — Sunday’s dis of Taylor Swift at the VMAs — turn out to be the left turn that does irreparable damage to his career?
I thought with the story above how would I deal with a distraction in the middle of an interview. Let’s read what Althea suggested.
Lack of privacy. Not every interviewer has an office; many have cubicles. However, when job candidates are interviewed in cubicles or “bullpen” like open floor plans it not only makes them feel uncomfortable; they lose focus as well. The lack of privacy is unprofessional and many candidates become reluctant to share intimate details of past jobs or answer difficult or probing questions. If you find yourself being interviewed in this type of setting, make a conscious effort to remain focused and answer questions as succinctly as possible, since you can’t control the situation (and you do want the job). A good tactic here is to re-phrase or repeat each question before answering while trying to ignore the activity that’s going on in the background.
Frantic gestures and constant movement by the interviewer. Some hiring managers try to multi-task while interviewing candidates. They make jerky movements and get up and down quite frequently or interrupt candidates before they have finished answering previous questions. To deal with this distraction, take a deep breath (not audibly), re-state your last answer and proceed as if the distraction had not occurred. Above all you MUST present a calm and unhurried demeanor. If you feel comfortable smiling, make sure it’s genuine.
Posturing by the interviewer. This is not only a distraction but a turn-off as well. Posturing occurs when the interviewer tries to look important by interrupting your conversation flow by name-dropping, asking non-job related questions or making outrageous statements for effect. Probably the only way to handle this one is to pause and let the interviewer finish. Be attentive and wait politely for the next question. Do not participate in a give-and-take exchange of who can drop the most names or look the most important. You will definitely NOT get the job that way.
