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Use interview to ferret out signs of nightmare job

You get to the new office, this place of new and exciting opportunity, but it’s just not what you were told it would be.

People often land in such a position because they are simply too eager to take that new gig. People spend their work lives trying to show why they should be hired. But they forget that they have to do a little careful shopping, too. And so sometimes (perhaps oftentimes) workers go from a bad situation to a worse one because they are so excited for a new opportunity.

A few questions might help an interviewee figure out if this particular workplace is just right, according to Gregg Stocker, author of the book Avoiding the Corporate Death Spiral: Recognizing and Eliminating the Signs of Decline.

“They’re just too desperate to get the offer. And they’re so busy selling themselves, they don’t see if it’s a good fit or not,” he said. He understands this all too well.

Years ago, Stocker — now director of performance improvement for plastics company Ico Polymers in Houston — jumped at the chance to work for a Japanese company when the general public was obsessed with the way Japanese companies were run. Within about a week “I could see this was not Toyota,” he said. The managers “managed by fear,” and he was required to work 50 or more hours a week. He knew this wasn’t good for him but decided to stick it out as long as possible because he didn’t want a short-term job on his résumé. He lasted six months.

But for 10 years after he left the horrid job, he had to explain in every interview why he had spent only six months there. He figured out a perfect explanation: “I always wanted to get into this and got the opportunity and didn’t want to pass that up,” he would tell interviewers.

Stocker has learned to ask a few things in interviews that might protect against a similar fate. If a job seeker is interviewing with someone from human resources, he should ask for a description of the potential boss’ management style. (For example: very hands-on = micromanager.) It’s also important to find out what the turnover is so a new worker doesn’t step into the Pit of Despair that no one has yet survived.

If a job seeker is talking to the would-be boss, be alert to body language, Stocker said. Among other stories, he’s heard of managers who kept checking their BlackBerry while interviewing. That’s not a good sign if that interviewee wants a job where he is appreciated or respected.

Sometimes it’s impossible to tell from an interview what might be in store at a new workplace. One analyst at an environmental consulting firm in Arlington, Va., has suffered through a year of what she says is a glorified admin position. Lately her life has been 50 percent envelope-stuffing work. When she interviewed for the position, she was told she would work on “substantive, challenging projects.”

She tried to ascertain in the interview what the place was really like by asking the “What’s a typical day here?” question. They replied that every day varied and that she would be involved in a wide range of projects. She asked how much of her job might be spent doing administrative tasks. “They said there might be times where you’ll pitch in to help,” she said. Obviously, it did not turn out that way.

Now the analyst is afraid her senses are off and she won’t be able to tell if a new job will be a good job. Her solution? Only take something that she finds through networking. That way, she will know the person who recommends her and who recommends the job. It’s much safer that way, she thinks.

At the age of 50, after a long career in technology and as an executive at a small nonprofit, Cate (who asked that her last name not be used) decided it was time to downsize her career. She wanted a position that would have “lots less responsibility” and accepted that it would pay less.

She took a 35-hour-a-week job as an executive assistant at a midsize nonprofit. She was told throughout the interviews that the job would be clerical.

Soon she discovered she had to take on much more work because there was no one else to do it.

After about six months, she realized she might as well be paid more if she was working that much anyway. She resigned, took a job similar to the one she had left and is “loving it. Most days.”

At least she knew what to expect.