Have a bad boss?

They can made your work life miserable.

Bad bosses can be miserable to deal with or they can simply have personalities that don’t work with yours.

It is essential to find out what your future boss is really like. One way to do this is to observe the person’s behavior during the interview.

Here are some things to watch out for:

  1. Watch for basic etiquette. If the interview was late, were you given an apology or a reason? Did the interviewer get straight to the point or did they do chat for a few minutes before getting to the job interview. Someone who is all business might be showing their ‘all I care about is business’ side. Also listen for the interviewer’s pronoun usage. Constantly using ‘you’ when describing job responsibilities or ‘I’ when talking about successes could show that a person is not supportive/takes all the credit.
  2. Watch what the interviewer does. If they answer the phone, text, check email or just doesn’t pay attention to you, they will most likely do this while you are an employee.
  3. Watch for inconsistency or contradiction. This could be a sign that your new boss might change his mind constantly.
  4. Watch their body language. Not making eye contact, looking down, pointing fingers, constantly rechecking your resume can show that someone is not confident and very insecure.
  5. Watch reactions when you ask questions. Do they avoid answering, do they deflect answers, do they cross their arms against their chests? This can show that someone is hiding something or not open to your questions.
  6. Watch your reactions. Something can be said for following your gut. If you are not feeling right about the interview, the job is not for you.

If you have a bad boss or don’t want one, take the time to check he/she out. An interview is about you finding out if a job is right for you.

Marie Raperto, The Hiring Hub