1. 5 Ways to Spot a Bad Boss In An Interview.
Stephanie Taylor Christensen, Contributor
A boss can literally, make or break your career. Here are five ways to
spot the bad ones before they become yours.
A great boss can make you feel engaged and empowered at work, will keep
you
out of unnecessary office politics, and can identify and grow your strengths.
But a bad boss can make the most impressive job on paper (and salary)
quickly
unbearable. Not only will a bad boss make you dislike at least 80% of your
week,
your relationships might suffer, too. A recent study conducted at Baylor
University found that
stress and tension caused by an abusive boss “affects the marital
relationship
and subsequently, the employee’s entire family.” Supervisor abuse isn’t
always
as blatant as a screaming temper tantrum; it can include taking personal
anger
out on you for no reason, dismissing your ideas in a meeting, or simply,
being
rude and critical of your work, while offering no constructive ways to
improve
it. Whatever the exhibition of bad boss behavior, your work and personal
life
will suffer. Merideth Ferguson, PH.D., co-author of the study and assistant
professor of management and entrepreneurship at Baylor explains that “it
may be
that as supervisor abuse heightens tension in the relationship, the employee
is
less motivated or able to engage in positive interactions with the partner
and
other family members.”
There are many ways to try and combat the effects of a bad boss, including
confronting him or her directly to work towards a productive solution,
suggesting that you report to another supervisor, or soliciting the help of
human resources. But none of those tactics gurantee improvement, and
quite
often, they’ll lead to more stress. The best solution is to spot a bad

2. boss—before they become yours! Here are five ways to tell whether your
interviewer is a future bad boss.Move up Move down
1. Pronoun usage. Performance consultant John Brubaker says that the top
verbal
tell a boss can gives is in pronoun choice and the context it is used. If your
interviewer uses the term “you” in communicating negative information (
such as,
“you will deal with a lot of ambiguity”), don’t expect the boss to be a
mentor.
If the boss chooses the word “I” to describe the department’s success—
that’s a
red flag. If the interviewer says “we” in regards to a particular challenge
the
team or company faced, it may indicate that he or she deflects
responsibility
and places blame.
2. Concern with your hobbies. There is a fine line between
genuine relationship building, and fishing for information, so use your
discretion on this one. If you have an overall good impression of the
potential
boss it may be that he or she is truly interested in the fact that you are
heavily involved in charity work, and is simply getting to know you. On the
other hand, the interviewer may be trying to determine whether you have
too many
commitments outside of work. The interviewer can’t legally ask if you are
married, or have kids, so digging into your personal life can be a clever way
to
understand just how available you are.
3. They’re distracted. The era of email, Blackberries and
smartphones have made it “okay” for people to develop disrespectful
communication habits in the name of work. Particularly in a frenzied
workplace,
reading email while a person is speaking, multi-tasking on conference calls
and
checking the message behind that blinking Blackberry mid-conversation has
become
the norm of business communications. But, regardless of his or her role in
the
company, the interviewer should be striving to make a good impression—
which
includes shutting down tech tools to give you undivided attention. If your
interviewer is glancing at emails while you’re speaking, taking phone calls,

3. or
late to the interview, don’t expect a boss who will make time for you.
4. They can’t give you a straight answer. Caren Goldberg,
Ph.D. is an HR professor at the Kogod School of Business at American
University. She says a
key “tell” is vague answers to your questions. Listen for pauses,
awkwardness,
or overly-generic responses when you inquire what happened to the person
who
held the position you are interviewing for, and/or what has created the need
to
hire. (For example, if you are told the person was a “bad fit,” it may
indicate
that the workplace doesn’t spend much time on employee-development, and
blames
them when things don’t work out).
You should also question turnover rates, how long people stay in given
roles,
and what their career path has been. All of these answers can indicate not
only
if the boss is one people want to work for, but whether pay is competitive,
and
employees are given a career growth plan.
5. They’ve got a record. Ask the potential boss how long he
or she has been at the company, in the role, and where he or she worked
before
coming to it to get a feel for his or management style, and whether it’s
what
you respond to. For example, bosses making a switch from a large
corporation to
a small company may lead with formality. On the other hand, entrepreneurs
tend
to be passionately involved in business, which can be a help or a hindrance,
depending on your workstyle.
Goldberg also recommends searching the site eBossWatch, where you read
reviews that former employees have given to a boss. If you’re serious about
the
position, she also suggests reaching to the former employee whose spot you
are
interviewing for, and asking for their take on the workplace. (LinkedIn
makes

4. this task easy to do). The former employee’s recount may not necessarily
reflect
your potential experience, but it can help you to determine whether his or
her
description of the job and company “jives” with what the potential boss said.