Managing Sticky Situations at Work

148 Managing Sticky Situations at Worksomeone else’s. As he went through the interview, he helped Richardrecognize that this job might not be a fit for him.Specify the Problem. Paul clearly described his customer base. Heprobed Richard for examples of working with that special customer.When Richard answered in the conditional tense, Paul pointed outthe obvious, namely, Richard did not have any experience with thesecustomers.Invite the Other Person to Talk. Paul asked many powerful, openquestions that showed a genuine curiosity. These open questionsinvited Richard to talk, but Richard responded with few words.Join Feeling with Fact. When Paul said, ‘‘I’m a bit confusedbecause you say you’ve worked in retail ...’’ he told Richard that hisanswers did not jibe with what he said he’d done. He suggested thatRichard would enjoy a more solitary job, like researching products;Richard could not deny this observation.Resolve the Issue. Paul wanted to end the interview in a professionalmanner. In a job interview, the hiring person can resolve theissue right away or say something like, ‘‘We’ll be in touch.’’ Paulhelped Richard see that this job was not a good fit for him, and heended the interview with resolution and politeness.Answer True or FalseHOW STRATEGIC AN INTERVIEWER ARE YOU?1. It’s important for your questions to focus on a person’s futuregoals.2. Interviewers should talk about 50 percent of the time and candidatesabout 50 percent of the time.3. You can find out a person’s basic philosophy during an interview.4. Your questions should be tailored just for the person in front ofyou, not any person who applies for the job.5. It’s okay to ask candidates where they are from.6. When a job requires certain physical skills, it’s okay to ask candidatesif they have any physical handicaps that might prevent themfrom doing the job.7. You should never ask closed questions in an interview.8. If a candidate strikes you as unsuitable in the first few secondsof the interview, you should probably reject that candidate inthe end.