Sometimes you sit through an interview and wonder what on earth is going on and why did I waste my time? The questions are lame or insulting, or both.

Perhaps the interviewer is so self important, that he or she blathers on and does not give you an opportunity to speak and raise questions. Possibly, the interviewer does not understand the job requirements and cannot connect your experience to them. Keep in mind that, from this disaster, there is an opportunity to learn from the time you wasted. Here are some logical conclusions:

• If your interview is with an HR person, it would appear that poor leadership exists in the human resources department. It does not bode well for the company. A lack of HR leadership not only suggests that your interview was unproductive—odds are, no staff members will be able to explain benefit information such as how your insurance works or how to apply for Family Medical Leave. An incompetent HR department is a sign that the company at large is not well.
• If your interviewer is a dimwit, it would seem that the organization tolerates mediocrity, or worse, incompetence. You don't have to.
• If the dimwit is the hiring manager, you could be working for that person. He or she has already demonstrated poor organizational and time management skills, as well as a blatant disregard for your time and efforts in the interview.

Using the Interview As a "Window" to the Larger Company Culture
While the time you spend on an interview is limited, it gives you a view and an idea of the larger company. After a disorganized or fruitless interview, you are picking up on warning signs that could be leading you to a low-yield career move.

A troubling time spent on an interview yields clues. it is not a stretch to assume that, if you ventured further into the culture, you might encounter serious problems including:

• Employee morale problems
• Nasty or incompetent managers
• Department wars
• A missing, outdated or unclear company mission
• Missing or conflicting policies and procedures
• Unclear goals for individual employees.

Sadly, there are quite a few companies in our working world that are terrible places to spend your productive time. If you've ever worked in such a place, you know how miserable that can be. You hate coming in each day and if you are not careful, you will take your anger and frustration home with you each evening. That incompetent interviewer could actually be doing you a favor by giving you insights which will help you steer clear of trouble.

In a recent survey, we asked for feedback on bad interviews indicating larger problems in a company. Stephanie Young, Project Manager at a large international firm reported the following experience:

"Not necessarily to the company, but certainly it provides insight on the person doing the interview.

"I once went to an interview for a job that looked like it would be a great catch, on paper. However, in the midst of the interview, the manager and the technical lead got into a screaming match with each other, complete with name calling, garden variety vulgarities, and various insults.

"I got the job offer and turned it down. While the company may have been great, these weren't people I wanted to work with. There's nothing wrong with disagreeing, even passionately, but doing it at the top of your lungs in front of an outsider demonstrates such poor judgement that there's no way these people could possibly be managing anything well."

Do you have a good experience from a bad interview? Did you avoid a terrible company? In hindsight did you join a bad company by missing the obvious warning signs during an interview? My Writing Resources will add your knowledge to this article giving you credit for your input. Drop us a line: e-mail

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