Interview Tip - Dominating the interview
Concern about your interviewer, worrying about their thoughts and their impression of you and the urge to avoid and confront some of the interview questions – all these may result in domineering behaviour on the part of the interviewee. Such behaviour may be manifested by objecting and attempting to minimise the importance of some of the questions asked by the interviewer thereby hoping to influence the course of the interview (to their advantage). The interviewee may even try to show latent aggression and in that manner send a message to the interviewer that their questions are irrelevant. This manipulation is caused by the interviewee in the hope that it will assist them to stand the pressure of the interview with greater ease.
Contrarily, such behaviour may put pressure on the interviewer, raise doubts regarding their ability to co-work in the future and consequently conclude that such manipulative behaviour in the interview may predict similar behaviour in the working environment. Domineering behaviour may cause the interviewer to recoil and fail the interviewee.
Domineering behaviour in an interview is characterised in the following manner: .
1. Lengthy answers – when an applicant chooses to answer in a lengthy manner he/she in effect control the interview. For example, if an interviewer asks an applicant to introduce themselves and the applicant takes up 20 minutes of the interview time do so, intentionally or due to lack of confidence, there may be very little time left for other questions. Therefore, in effect the applicant has controlled the interview. However, this ‘technique' may raise objections on the part of the interviewer.
2. Short answers – replying in a very short and brief manner may also cause the same effect. When asked questions an applicant may answer in a very brief manner forcing the interviewer to ask a lot of questions to elicit the information they require. This behaviour may irritate the interviewer and may consequently lead to a decision to disqualify the applicant.
3. ‘Blocking' the interviewer – some applicants try to control the interview by asking too many questions and talking about issues that are not directly related. By doing so they hope that they will be able to avoid some of the questions the interviewer may ask. However, what happens in effect is that if the interviewer can not obtain the information they wish they may disqualify the job applicant.
Important! The interviewer sets the agenda for the interview and asks the questions. The interviewee contemplates the way to answer. As a job applicant you must avoid trying to manipulate the questions asked but rather answer them concisely, thoroughly and in a respectful manner.
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