Being too aggressive in an interview can hurt you sometimes

How many interviews have you conducted? I can’t even count them all – there have been too many! During an interview it is very important for the interviewee to conduct himself or herself appropriately, do some research on the company and potential job opportunity, and also temper how aggressively he or she responds to questions. Here is a pretty interesting interview scenario of what not to do along with some tips to help you get through an interview effectively.

I sat down with a potential candidate for a position that was a bit higher level than his experience, but I was willing to see if he was worth it. The interview started off normal; I asked about his previous experiences, some critical thinking questions, his career interests…all of the usual questions. He had some questions planned for me about the opportunity, developing business and understanding company operations. I explained to him how he would fall into the company hierarchy and specifically what his role would look like. I also provided him with an overview of our HR policies and asked for salary requirements and he asked for six figures.

While his questions were not wrong, they were aggressive. With only one year of experience, he wanted to build business right away and get paid six figures. While I felt he could do the client work, I feared he would quit if I didn’t give him business development opportunities, which requires experience at the first level before you can jump to the next level.

Stay tuned for some tips on how to have a successful interview!