Managing Sticky Situations at Work

Sticky Interview Situations 1499. Your planning time before an interview should be three times asmuch as the interview itself.10. It’s a good idea to ask tough questions to see how a candidatehandles pressure.For your score, look in Appendix 1.STICKY SITUATION #19:THE INTERVIEWER WHO CROSSES THE LINEWanda recently completed her PhD in chemistry. She’s applyingfor a laboratory job in the research division of a large manufacturingcompany.The interviewer begins: ‘‘I appreciate your taking the time tovisit with me today. My name is Janice Walker. I handle humanresources for our division. I’m going to spend the next fewminutes trying to get to know you better. What do you like to doin your spare time?’’‘‘I haven’t had much spare time. Working on my PhD tookevery minute. Plus I have two young children. My husband worksfor a large company that has divisions all over the country. Hehas to travel a lot. So usually I’m either taking care of the kidsor doing my school work.’’‘‘Sounds as if you’re practically a single parent,’’ Janice says.Wanda laughs, ‘‘You could say that.’’‘‘And your children take up all your spare time?’’‘‘Yeah, but I don’t mind doing stuff around the house, likelaundry and cleaning. Those kinds of tasks take my mind offthe laboratory work I might be involved in or the teaching assignmentI might have for the semester. But the kids do take up a lotof time.’’‘‘How do you manage your time between your home responsibilitiesand your work?’’ Janice asks.Wanda takes a deep breath. ‘‘That takes a level of maturity.Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. If a child getssick, that takes priority. Even though my work is important, nothingis more important than my children and the quality of theirlives. My husband and I agree on that. Most of the time, I can