Weird Interview!?

1 hour ago, TriciaJ said:

I can't "like" this enough. And I totally agree with the seminar theory. Probably the same company that came up with scripting. ? Now it's "How to Get Buy-In By Being Too Cool For Words".

Don't even get me started on the scripting!!

I have had this happen, non clinical job I was applying for in quality. Came in dressed up, the direct manager and another senior team member were seated appropriately but the director of the service was seated with her knees pulled up to her chest and the sleeves of her cardigan pulled down over her hands.

Having been in a management role prior and interviewed multiple people I found this very strange. She also did not write down a single note for the whole interview while the others took diligent notes (i.e. as required by HR if there was ever a question from an unsuccessful candidate why they didn't get the job a senior HR member can review the interview notes).

Anyhow, turns out she was a bit hippy dippy vague type. Would forget to tell you that you needed to present to the board or the CEO until 2 days prior resulting in meltdowns from whoever was supposed to be presenting. Would not action serious issues such as the head of a department yelling at me for asking him to have someone involved in an incident investigation (as required by the Department of Health).

My direct manager was a gem and she was the reasonI stayed in that role plus getting to know the director PA so I could be warned earlier if I needed to present to the board.....

If she has a back issue like ankylosing spondylitis or hip joint issue this could be her only comfortable sitting position....

10 hours ago, Daisy4RN said:

Don't even get me started on the scripting!!

Are you finding everything OK? I have the time. ?

11 hours ago, Daisy4RN said:

Yea, that was another thought I had later. I have never seen or heard that before though, but yea, probably some new management thing.

11 hours ago, Daisy4RN said:

I just browsed different how to read body language sites and couldn't even find what you described.

It sounds very calculated to me. Maybe she learned it in a seminar.

I too did a semi-intense search for body language such as the one described and couldn't find anything that could justify it. The only other explanation is that the interviewer just doesn't know how to conduct a professional interview.

4 hours ago, BeachsideRN said:

If she has a back issue like ankylosing spondylitis or hip joint issue this could be her only comfortable sitting position....

This.

I have AS and this is pretty close to how I sit. Not only is my spine affected but my right hip so I sit crossed style with my left leg under my right to relieve some of the pressure of sitting. Or, sometimes I sit with my left leg crossed and my right leg perched on the chair.

I'm also in my early 30's.

If it were merely a back issue, she would have stayed behind her desk in said posture.

4 hours ago, Davey Do said:

If there were some condition that would cause her to behave abnormally, in a polite society, it needs to be said.

Proclaiming a deviation from typical behavior would put the other person, in this case Daisy, at ease and open the interaction to a more appropriately humanistic course.

You read my mind!! Yep, that of course was my first thought (pretty much verbatim), then I went on to think of the many reasons why she could possibly be sitting like that.

6 hours ago, Emergent said:

" I have the time." ?

Yes, my favorite. Said with smoke coming out from the bottom of your shoes.

Have loved reading the responses on this thread.

OK, for my serious answer. Prior to becoming an NP, I was a business executive. I worked in a very formal, conservate, prestigious firm at one point and one of the female (very) senior executives loved to sit cross legged - she was a bit of a free spirit Some people are just like that and I wouldn't read too much into it.

As for her coming out from behind her desk and sitting directly facing you w/o anything in between, there is a good reason for that. In the business world, a desk creates a barrier and is kind of a power thing. The person behind the desk has more power. The interviewer likely just wanted to create a more open and less intimidating situation for the interview.

Note, if an executive is sitting behind their desk, someone who sits on the desk or moves behind the desk to physically confront the executive is attempting physical and psychological dominance.