8 Ways to Deal with a Disgruntled Interviewer

Originally posted here: (Enjoy!)

Wow, am I fuming. 

I went to a job interview today. 

I was pretty stoked for it. 

And I know I'm breaking the cardinal rule, the rule where you aren't supposed to post about interviews or whatnot, but I don't really care. 

I was pretty nervous about this interview mostly because time's a tickin' and I still don't have a job. 

As soon as I sat down in the interview, the interviewee takes a look at my resume. 

"Ah, I see you went to BYU, good.
UVU MBA...hmmm...isn't that a step down?"

Umm...

"Why isn't your GPA listed?"
Maybe because I've been working for two years...

"I've seen your writing, and it's good. But I just don't see that you are an organized person."
Well gee thanks. Do I look like a SLOB?

This interview was not going as planned, and I was slowly losing control. Okay, more like, I was speeding towards a brick wall, and there was no where I could veer off to. Have you ever had the displeasure of having an interview where the person just automatically hates you? And they just want to make your whole interview miserable? Been there, done that. Here are 8 ways to deal with a disgruntled interviewer that just wants you to be as unpleasant as them. 

1. Stand your ground. Don't let the interviewer get their way. If they say something that isn't right, correct them, but be polite. 
2. Smile. As much as I wanted to kill this interviewer, I smiled at what he had to say and I {tried} not to let it get to me. {Since I'm blogging about it, it's pretty obvious it did get to me}
3. Laugh. Try to have a good time with the interviewer. Who knows, maybe they will like you, but they are having a crappy day. 
4. Explain yourself. Though it might be tempting to breeze over small things an interviewer asks, make sure you are through and they understand you. 
5. Don't snap. Although it can be very frustrating, never snap at the interviewer. It shows that they have the upper hand. Be the better person. 
6. Don't show fear. Interviewers are like dogs, they can smell fear. Don't give them the satisfaction of knowing they have scared you. 
7. Be prepared. One of my mistakes was that I didn't research the company as throughly as I usually do. I will admit that there were questions that I was prepared for, but there were also some that I should have been prepared for that I wasn't. Always, always do your homework when it comes to interviews. 
8. Get out of there as fast as possible. Once the interview has concluded, get out of there. The interviewer clearly doesn't want anything to do with you, but you never know, maybe they hated other applicants even more. Exit quickly, but don't forget to be courteous. 

Yeeesh. What an interview. Get me out of there! :)