7 Interview 'Don't Do's' from The Office

Steve Carell is leaving The Office, the hilarious mockumentary comedy series, resulting in an opening for a Regional Manager. Last week's episode, as usual, a fly-on-the-wall depiction of a day in Scranton Pennsylvania offices of the fictional paper company, Dunder Nifflin, centred on the recruitment of the new manager. It was a great lesson in what not to do if you want to ace the interview and win the job. Perhaps it should be required watching for every graduating college student or any person looking for a new job.


1. The first applicant told the interview panel that he had a great three part plan to turn the company around but refused to share it unless they hired him. He gave hints but balked at revealing all the details and giving away his ideas. It might seem ludicrous but believe it or not, I’ve seen that exact same behaviour in real life interviews. The reality is, in more and more recruitments nowadays, you’ll be asked to complete an assignment and they are often based on real life situations. Give them your ideas and make it good. Do you really think that the hiring manager will want to sign you up just to find out what your great idea was? No!


2. The second applicant, played with great finesse by James Spader, was an arrogant, manipulative person who was dressed overly casually, slouched in his seat, rambled nonsensically—actually a trait shared by several applicants—and insulted the interviewers. He even said in response to one question, “Don’t be a fool.” Obviously he hasn’t read How to Win Friends and Influence People. He then topped it off by bad-mounting the company and the employees in hearing of Dwight. There are so many lessons from this applicant, but it all comes down to be yourself and if yourself is an arrogant, demeaning person who has poor verbal and non-verbal communication skills, then you probably won’t get the job.


3. There were several internal candidates. They all thought it was ‘different’ for them, and well, it was, but this is a sitcom, not real life. In real life, when you are interviewed by people you know and who know you, pretend you are strangers. Don’t assume anything. Answer fully and explain your experience as though they know nothing about you. On the other hand, don’t oversell because, remember, they do know you.


4. One applicant was a self-sabotager and did everything he could to eliminate himself from the competition. He asked and even argued about salary and benefits, asked inappropriate questions and even had a snack. A bit extreme but it doesn’t take much to turn people off.


5. Ricky Gervais, the star of the original BBC series, had a long-distance online interview. Verbal and non-verbal communication is even more important when not in person. Gervais’ character rambled endlessly while the listeners just sat and stared at the computer screen.


6. A woman played by Catherine Tate, demonstrated the importance of doing your research on the company so that you can make sure your answers and ideas reflect the actual culture. She had extreme ideas and then when challenged, went to the other extreme. She talked rapidly, making no sense and taking every opportunity to make it clear that she was completely unsuitable for the job. Lesson learned: do your research, listen to the questions and think before you answer.


7. Jim Carrey had a cameo appearance. We didn’t see him in the interview but apparently he was just plain weird, with an obsession with making sure they knew he needed two weeks off as soon as he started.


At one point, Jim, played by John Kraskinski, commented that they all the interviews blended together. So true. You need to stand out, but not in a weird way as most of these characters did. On the other hand, if you don’t want the job, like the self-sabotager, perhaps you can try some of these tricks. At least you’d be entertaining.