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[11328188]

So I have just completed my FOURTH interview for an administrative position and I am starting to lose it because I just feel like the interviewer has set the bar too high and cannot be satisfied.  He keeps asking the same questions over and over again and seems to be looking for very very specific answers.  Even when I provide what I believe are very good, thoughtful responses, he comes back with, "but what about...".  In some cases, I felt like my answers were essentially the same as his but just worded differently.  I feel really beat up right now.

And this thought seems to extend beyond me, as I feel like I am interviewing for some kind of secret service position.  The interviewer has yet to call my actual references but has called three people I have worked with to ask about me.  In each case, the conversations he had with these aquaintances has lasted from about 45 - 60 minutes.  One of the my pseudo-references told me that she felt like SHE was interviewing for the position. 

At this point, while the money is good and I would probably consider the position if offered, I am beginning to wonder whether I would want to work for this person at all.  Not that I like my chances, but I suppose I need to be prepared for whatever happens. 

Anyone else have this kind of experience during interviewing?

[zharkov]

There is a rule of thumb in consulting, which I'd say applies here, that when someone asks you the same question three times, you say, "It seems like you are asking me the same question over and over.  Why is that?'

Maybe the person wasn't listening, wasn't paying attention, really wants to ask a different question, who knows?  But it is better to stop and point out the dynamics before responding yet again.

[normative_]

So I have just completed my FOURTH interview for an administrative position and I am starting to lose it because I just feel like the interviewer has set the bar too high and cannot be satisfied.  He keeps asking the same questions over and over again and seems to be looking for very very specific answers.  Even when I provide what I believe are very good, thoughtful responses, he comes back with, "but what about...".  In some cases, I felt like my answers were essentially the same as his but just worded differently.  I feel really beat up right now.

And this thought seems to extend beyond me, as I feel like I am interviewing for some kind of secret service position.  The interviewer has yet to call my actual references but has called three people I have worked with to ask about me.  In each case, the conversations he had with these aquaintances has lasted from about 45 - 60 minutes.  One of the my pseudo-references told me that she felt like SHE was interviewing for the position. 

At this point, while the money is good and I would probably consider the position if offered, I am beginning to wonder whether I would want to work for this person at all.  Not that I like my chances, but I suppose I need to be prepared for whatever happens. 

Anyone else have this kind of experience during interviewing?

You might want to start playing our questions only thread. I'm quite serious.

This reminds me of interviews for the foreign service. The purpose was to test how you react to a situation where you're being set up to fail, where the person interviewing you always refuses to accept the answer given, and to check whether you lose it and what happens when you do.

Many administrative positions involve dealing with unpopular decisions, and dealing with persistent criticism comes with the job. They may want to see how you deal with it.

Zharkov's approach may work. But then, it may just open up the next set of infuriating questions, which I'm more likely to believe.

One thing about Zharkov's approach that I totally agree with is that you will have to push back in the interview. An administrator who can't isn't worth hiring.

[larryc]

Four interviews? Hour-long calls to people not on your reference list? WTF? This seems pretty damn irregular for any job. Will this moonbat be your supervisor if you take the job? If so, I would survey my other options. If not, try Zharkov's approach.

[pippin]

I went through an interview process like this once for a combined faculty/administrative job. The whole process took twice as long as a standard search in my field and had many added features, such as a video interview that was a technical disaster. What concerned me the most was that throughout, not a single person ever tried to sell me on the place or its programs -- it just seemed to be assumed that naturally, everyone would want to work there, and all the hoops had to be jumped through on the candidates' end.

They ended up bringing two of us to campus, and I believe both of us turned down the job. It went unfilled for two years.

[11328188]

Four interviews? Hour-long calls to people not on your reference list? WTF? This seems pretty damn irregular for any job. Will this moonbat be your supervisor if you take the job? If so, I would survey my other options. If not, try Zharkov's approach.

Thanks for the feedback thus far.  And to answer your question, he would be my supervisor.  I'm getting to the point where I hope I don't hear from them anymore because I'd have to decide whether I want to sell my sanity for money (the increase in salary would be anywhere from 30 - 50k based on their salary range).  What I HAVE decided is that I am certainly finished with any more interviews.  At this point, they simply have to make a decision.

And yes, I believe the calls to my pseudo references were quite unusual.  One of the people they called is a national expert in the field in question.  I don't work with her anymore (nor did I ever work FOR her), but she happened to be on our campus the day after she was called by the interviewer.  It certainly struck me as unusual.  In my conversation with her, I got a sense of what I am up against.  The expert told me that the interviewer kept trying to rephrase her questions to make them clear.  As she explained to me, the expert countered with, "no I do understand what you are asking and I don't believe that that should be a problem with the candidate". 

Anyway, I was told that the process could drag on for another while longer.  I don't plan to call them anymore so I'll just let what happens happen.  In the meantime, I'm starting to do my own investigation of the interviewer.  I won't put my investigation into full gear unless I get an offer, but I certainly will find out as much as I can to determine whether this was some kind of a stress test or if that is how he is overall. 

[fiona]

The title of this thread is much more enticing than the content.

The Fiona, dirty-minded