11 signs your interview is in trouble

From CNN.com | May 5, 2010| By Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder.com

If the person
interviewing you seems to be simply reading off a list of questions, it
could be a bad sign. 

• Job
  hunts come with their own warning signs -- sometimes during the
  interview


• If the interviewer asks rote questions or watches
  clock, it could be a bad sign


• Not good to be late because you
  got lost, or snippy to an assistant


• If interviewer complains
  about workers quitting all the time, reconsider your application

(CareerBuilder.com)
-- During driver's education courses, you learn what each road sign
signifies. The two arrows converging means you need to merge. A squiggly
arrow means the road winds. "Left Lane Ends" means, well, the left lane
ends.

Sometimes you don't even need the signs to know what to
expect. If you see a flurry of red brake lights, you know traffic is not
moving. In an ice storm, if the car in front of you is skidding from
side to side, you can bet that the road is slippery.

Job hunts
come with their own warning signs, but they're not typically as blunt as
the bright yellow and orange signs posted on the side of the road.
Instead, you're more likely to get context clues, like the brake lights.

The interview process is full of uncertainty for a job seeker,
and much of the power is in the interviewer's hands. Sometimes you don't
know if the interview is going well. Other times you're so nervous you
don't recognize the signs that this company isn't right for you.

Therefore
it behooves you to recognize the warning signs that your job interview
is in trouble. Here are 11 warning signs to watch for when interviewing
for a job:

1. You're pretty sure you know how to get to the
interview site

Before you can even look for warning signs of a
bad interview, you need to get there first. Lisa Fedrizzi-Hutchins is a
human resources/compliance administrator who was heading to a job
interview earlier this year. She trusted her GPS unit, but realized the
directions were incorrect once she was en route. Fortunately she called
the company and asked some clarifying questions so that she could arrive
at the interview on time.

2. You're talking more than the
interviewer is

Job seekers shouldn't dominate more than 40
percent of the conversation, says John M. McKee, founder and CEO of
Business Success.

"Because many job seekers are anxious to show
that they are the best candidate for a job, they often dominate the
conversation with things like never-ending answers or run-on sentences,"
he explains. "The interview time may end before they've had adequate
time to deal with all the questions the interviewer had prepared."

3.
Interviewer's eyes are on the clock, not you

As a managing
partner at Winter, Wyman and Co., Mark Gleckman knows the importance of
an interviewer's body language.

"During an interview, be an
active observer," Gleckman advises. "Watch your interviewer's body
language -- is she glancing at her watch or noticing who is walking by?
These could be signs that the interview may not progress to the next
phase." He suggests asking the interviewer if you've provided all of the
information she was hoping for or if you can offer anything else to get
the most out of the interview.

4. Interviewer takes phone
call mid-interview

An interviewer should treat you with the
same respect he or she expects. Jennifer Mounce, executive coach and
interview adviser for Coach Effect, has heard her share of bad interview
stories.

One manager stopped an interview to take a 20-minute
phone call without warning the interviewee, who was told to stay in the
room until it was over. When the call was over, the interviewer resumed
with the questions, but his mind was obviously elsewhere.

"Candidates
must ask themselves if they want to work for a person who can't give
them their full attention for a short period of time or who doesn't have
the communication and/or social skills necessary to put the candidate
at ease, apologize or explain the necessity of the disruption," Mounce
says.

5. Interview feels like a test of endurance

Mounce
also warns of employers who hold marathon interviews that last seven
hours. Applicants are not asked if they'd like a restroom break, snack
or glass of water. Mounce advises you to think about what the job would
be like if the interview is this bad.

6. No one wants to work
here

An insightful question that many job seekers fail to ask
is why the position is available. Or, to frame it so that you sound
focused on your future with the company, ask where the employee formerly
in the position is today. JR Rodrigues, co-founder of JRBM Software,
cautions job seekers to watch for companies with a revolving door.

"[If]
the hiring manager complains to the interviewee about having had his
last three hires quit after only a short term of employment, you should
wonder about what is causing such turnover and whether this job is for
you," he says.

7. You're participating in a questionnaire, not
an interview

Kris Alban, director of strategic partnerships
for iGrad, keeps a list of questions in front of him when conducting an
interview.

"During a good interview, I will go off-page as
certain responses provoke additional questions or I may ask the
interviewee to expand on something they said," Alban says. "If you
notice your interviewer just running down their list of questions, then
you know that you need to engage them more. I definitely become more
engaged when the interviewee accompanies their answer with a story that
anchors it."

8. You get snippy with the administrative
assistant

The interview begins the moment you are on the
premises, so don't save your best behavior for the meeting room. Monique
A. Honaman, CEO of ISHR Group and a former HR manager, stresses the
importance of good manners.

"I can't tell you how many times I
have heard of job seekers being dismissive to certain individuals, and I
know hiring managers often ask the receptionist to provide input on the
candidates as well as those more heavily involved in the job interview
process," Honaman says. "It's not just about having the skills and
abilities to do the job; the personality and respect elements are
critical, too."

9. You spend 10 minutes complaining about your
last boss

Honaman also cautions against going negative
during an interview. "Job seekers must never talk negatively about a
former co-worker or former boss, even if it seems like this negativity
is being encouraged," she warns. "Take the high road. It's an incredibly
small world out there and it's amazing who knows who."

10.
The company is in financial trouble

"[If] there is a loud
argument in the office of the company you are interviewing at stemming
from a creditor who has not received payment for his product or services
that were purchased by the company, you need to consider whether this
company will be able to pay you," Rodrigues says.

11. The
employer doesn't keep his or her word

Rodrigues
also warns against employers who tell you one thing but do otherwise.
Blatant lies are obvious warning signs, but other subtle ones also hint
at trouble. If you were given a timetable during the interview but you
haven't heard anything since, Rodrigues says you might have fallen off
of the interviewer's radar and need to work your way back into his or
her view.