What to do when your interview goes south.

Just wondering about this. Share your thoughts as interviewers and interviewees.

For example. You get asked questions and dind't know the answers to any of them.
A time you fumbled but walked out with your dignity.

4 Comments
 

I had what you could call a stress phone interview for 1st round. Two people. One just kind of asked basic questions while the other one pushed a lot of issues, asked a couple of technical questions, and looked to make sure you had done your research on the job and what they do.

I fumbled a bit on one question. I decided to follow up with them in my thank you email on that question. They thanked me for following up on the question. So I guess you could say even if you don't turn it around in an interview, not all hope is lost. I ended up getting that job also.

 
Best Response
  1. don't jump right in and try to answer, ask them for clarification
  2. be honest. say "I'm not entirely sure, but I think _____"
  3. if you're not very familiar with something, say "I'm not very up to date on that, but ____" and then say something semi related that makes you sound smart

now, all of this assumes these aren't basic technical questions, like "walk me through the 3 statements" or "tell me the pros and cons of valuing a company based on book val, ebitda, or fcf." if it's something like "what do you think about the swiss gold referendum coming up November 30?" or "what implications do you think abenomics will have on global currency?" or "tell me why you think franco 10s yield less than treasuries but more than JGBs?"

I tend to think current events and market related questions are easiest to skirt, because as long as you're paying attention to something, you should be able to talk and share an opinion. on the technical questions, you should know these cold. if you don't...well good luck.

if all else fails, look them right in the eye, cock your head, rip ass, and then walk out.

 

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