You Have GOT to be KIDDING Me!

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The Lion’s Pride: Interviewing

You Have GOT to be KIDDING Me!

John McEnroe bellowed this at line judges in Grand Slam as well as Grand Prix events. Throughout his career. Whether a British Monarch was in attendance or not.

And whether he had a valid argument or not.

Most of us won't vent our anger in front of thousands in attendance and millions worldwide. But then, Mac didn't have to deal with racially-biased line judges, either.

If you run into a bigoted hiring manager, it's usually best not to throw a Johnny Mac tantrum. Here's what happened to a few of my non-Caucasian clients and their responses:

"I'm black?!? Why Didn't Somebody TELL Me?!?" One of my African-American clients was interviewed by a Caucasian woman who bent over backwards to demonstrate she wasn't a bigot, and in so doing sounded like a bigot. She mentioned her fondness for Snoop Dogg and sweet potato pie. She even threw in some slang (To give her street cred? To put him at ease?). Here constant stereotype references, as you can imagine, started wearing on my client. Finally, he asked her why she was making so many "black references." She stammered for a moment and said she was just trying to build rapport. No, he didn't get the job, but she probably didn't keep hers for much longer.

"I'm not even going there!" I have an Asian-American client who was adopted by a Jewish family as an infant and thus has a Jewish surname. She interviewed at a large organization and, during a tour of the facility, was introduced to one of the top-level executives. She confidently held her hand out to shake, and mentioned her name. This, apparently caught the executive off guard. He repeated her last name and then jokingly added, "I'm not even going there!" My client was understandably upset but said nothing. Until they made an offer. Which she declined. In writing. To each member of the organization's Board of Directors. In her letter, she explained that she could not work for a company that had such a high-ranking bigot.

"Yo tengo un lapiz. Mi lapiz es amarillo." A Mexican-American client has had a number of hiring managers try to use the little Spanish they remembered from high school during their interviews. During his most recent interview, my client said something in Spanish the interviewer didn't understand and asked for the translation. My client responded, "It means 'I'm fully fluent in English - don't let my complexion and last name fool you.' " He said it with a smile and they shared a laugh. He's accepted their job offer three months ago.

IN THE CARAVAN: When a hiring manager oversteps his/her boundaries, try a little humor instead of "pulling a McEnroe."

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Interviewing

Negotiating Pay / The Questions You Hate to Answer / Nerves? Schmerves! / Pre-Interview Prep / Dress the Part / How to Show Your Portfolio / Speaking Of Pay... / All Shapes and Sizes / Interview Practice / What To - And NOT To Reveal / Andre's Answers and Roger's Requests / Practice Like The Karate Kid / Building Rapport 101 / Be a S.T.A.R. / Worst...Interview...Answers...Ever. / The Five Most Important Questions for You to Ask / Reflecting for Rapport / 18 Questions You're Bound to Hear / The Phone Interview / Negotiating With Mr. Smith, Part I / Negotiating With Mr. Smith, Part II: My Pete Rose for Your Reggie Jackson and Matchbox / Negotiating With Mr. Smith, Part III: Smith vs. Jones vs. Greene / Remove Thy Foot from Thy Mouth / Body Language 101 / Interviewing Disasters / Hire Your Boss / Keeping Your Cool Under Pressure / Returning the Question / The Dinner Interview / What You Want? Baby, You Know I Got It! / Know Your Industry / You Don’t Need to be a Psychic / Training / The Hippo Technique / Dropping Names / Marking Your Territory / The Walk-On Role / Body Language: The 15 Signals Hiring Managers Send and How to Read Them / You Have GOT to be KIDDING Me! / Taking a Drop: Re-Interviewing After the Fact / Proposing Your Own Job / Answering Self-Employment Questions: The Self-Employment Paradox