Wow, this is comment of the month material right here! Well done. And I particularly appreciate your input as a fellow interviewer. I agree that I don’t mind little pauses, but I think I embraced that advice a little bit too much, and I would caution people from doing the same. Interviews aren’t the time to sort through your thoughts. Preparation was key, and I was not prepared.

My favorite vignette that you shared was this one: “Not adapting to the personality/tone of your interviewer. With one candidate, I used some very obvious sarcasm, and her response was so serious. Sorry, but we won’t be a good fit to spend 40 hours a week together.” That’s such a keen observation, and well said. I feel like that’s such a huge part of human connection and engagement, even beyond interviews.

Here is a list of things that people have done in interviews with me that are far, far worse than that (in no particular order):

* Crying–not once, but twice.

* Telling me about your prostate cancer during your interview (AKA, the first time we’ve ever met). Dude, it’s amazing that you beat cancer, but don’t leave me with that mental image when you’re trying to make a good impression. Leave your prostate out of the conversation.

* Telling me a story involving blood and meth. This one happened about two weeks ago.

* Showing such bitterness towards an old boss about a fairly benign disagreement that all I can think is that I definitely don’t want you working for ME! “Can’t handle conflict…check!”

* Rambling for so long on each question that we only get through 4 in the whole hour instead of the 11 I wanted to ask. Time’s up!

* Not just pausing–but completely blanking–on so many questions that I’m suggesting or feeding you answers just to get the damn thing over with. This person was obviously unprepared, and it showed.

* Using the “Tell me a little bit about yourself” ice breaker to tell me your entire life story. Believe it or not, there is a wrong way to answer this question, and that is it! It should be a 30 to 60 second highlight reel of your career and accomplishments, not the time when tell me that your dad has been married 4 times.

* Not adapting to the personality/tone of your interviewer. With one candidate, I used some very obvious sarcasm, and her response was so serious. Sorry, but we won’t be a good fit to spend 40 hours a week together.

* On the flip side, thinking that just because I made a small joke that we are now BFF’s and you can drop any professional pretense and be super casual. You are still being evaluated. Be PERSONABLE but not FAMILIAR with your interviewer!!

* Wearing a bluetooth headset throughout the whole interview. That was the same guy who cried.

Obviously I have a love/hate relationship with interviewing. You never know at first who is going to crash and burn. Will it be entertaining or just painful? But finding the needles haystack that are a perfect fit is worth it!

I think your advice about being able to BS is spot on. But also, know specifically how to BS about your career. I’m a teacher and so when they ask me a difficult question, I usually start with an anecdote from the classroom to show my experience and give myself time.