THE CAREER DOCTOR CLANGERS

Computer programmers have something they call an “Ohno second” – it is that minuscule amount of time in which you realise that you’ve just made a HUGE mistake that the ‘undo’ button won’t remedy.

There you are, with your mind reeling. You have just dropped the clanger of all time in the middle of the final interview. The interviewer looks a little startled for a moment, but then solemnly writes down what you have just said. Aaaaaaah! He not only noticed it, he’s probably going to submit it to the funnies and bloopers column in the Financial Times or Fortune Magazine. What can you do?

The short answer is – nothing. You have messed up royally and probably cost yourself the opportunity for a really excellent job. Any attempt at retrieval (“I can’t believe I just said that”) is a case of too little too late.

So practise for the interview. Come down off your “Oh I’m better when I’m not over-rehearsed” high horse and practise. Think about what they are likely to ask you. Think about why they are asking it. Think about your most positive attributes, experiences and achievements and build a picture that you can sell in the interview. Then start saying it out loud over and over again in advance of the interview.

If you do drop a noisy clanger, the only thing you can do is plough on regardless. The one saving grace you have is that there is an issue of perception here – what seems catastrophic to you might be deemed to be a, “somewhat regrettable slip in the midst of an otherwise very strong performance” to the interviewer. So if you fall apart at this point, you really are dead. This is a test of your chutzpah / savoir faire – so get back to the agenda and start selling again.

Interviews are highly predictable and you can do a great deal of advance work which minimises your chances of elimination. But they can also be tricky, volatile beasts and if you find yourself straying out of your comfort zone, it is almost certainly going to be because you didn’t do the groundwork.

Rowan Manahan is MD of the career management firm Fortify Services and author of Where’s My Oasis?

Irish Independent, Jobs & Careers supplement, October14th 2004.

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