Hostile Interviews Revisited

I've had a few hostile interviews in my day - since I was laid off, I have had two interviews that are what I'd qualify as "hostile". The CEO of one company snarled at me when I asked his opinion on a Business Week article that questioned the sustainability of his industry. I thought the article had valid points, with logical reasons for each point made. His response was to snarl at me that he had never read the article and "Wanted to see it before giving it any merit with a comment". There were a number of other instances in our conversation that were equally as abrasive and it was clear to me that he and I were not a good fit. Given this economy, it stinks that I found myself in that position, but I was happy that we were able to figure it out in the interview instead of me going to work there and finding out quickly that I would have an uphill battle in my job there.

I always look for the match between myself and the company when I interview and in this economy, I try to make sure that I am even more discerning and not allowing my eagerness to get back to work to cloud my judgement when it comes to interviewing. I just read a tweet from @JobsBoston with an article about handling hostile interviews. The article, published on hotjobs.com discusses how to manage a number of different scenarios. I agree with MOST of the advice, but have concerns about:

6. Remember that it may be a test. "They may just be testing you -- to see how you handle pressure or deal with certain circumstances. They want to know if you stay calm and collected, or if it gets to you and affects your decision-making and actions. Many times these situations arise in business, so, unbeknownst to you, they may be placing you in a bit of a role-play scenario," reveals Bruce Powell, a managing partner with executive recruitment firm IQ Partners Inc.

I understand that companies may want to see how a candidate reacts to pressure, but this is NOT the way to go about it. Someone interviewing for a job is already under the pressure of the interview. Getting into head games just is amateurish and puts the company in a bad light. As a candidate, when I leave a "hostile interview" I never look back and think they did me a favor. If someone is jumping down your throat, interrupting you and cutting your interview short with other people in the company, and you don't work there, it makes me question how they will treat me once I am working there. I can understand that a company wants someone who can handle pressure, but there are a number of better ways to figure that out - ask their references, research them on LinkedIn, see if you have someone in common and ask them 'offline' about how the candidate handles pressure. Don't treat them rudely, you could just force your best candidate out the door.