Not everyone marches to the same drummer. This includes interviewers. While many who interview job applicants ask some predictable questions and have a certain sense of decorum, not all follow the same style or fit the typical mold. The truth is that if you participate in more than a few interviews, you are likely to run into many kinds of personalities.

What do you do if you end up seated across the desk from an eccentric person? You may feel a bit uncomfortable with his or her unorthodox approach.

While your first instinct is to think that you don't want the job if this person is representative of the company, give the firm the benefit of the doubt and focus on yourself, not the interviewer. Just be yourself and say what you came to say.

If you have core messages prepared and rehearsed in advance you should be able to cope with any of the following interview types:

The mute.
This is the person who doesn't seem to know what to ask you. He or she looks at your resume and can't formulate any questions or reach any conclusions. You get very short responses to any questions you ask. It's clear that you are going to have to help this person through the interview. Break the silence by saying "Why don't I start by giving you an overview of my experience?" Then head into your core messages.

The chatterbox.
This person runs on and on, busily talking about what she does, what the company does, the corporate climate, his life history, blah, blah, blah. The good news is that you are learning some things about the company and the work environment; the bad news is that the person is learning nothing about you. While it's best to let this person blab on, when he or she takes a breath, be prepared to inject your key messages. You might say, "This is great information, I see where my experience as a brand manager at XYZ can help the company reposition its product. For instance…" Now, you can become the chatterbox.

The quirky questioner.
This person goes beyond the expected questions such as: tell me about yourself, what are your strengths and weaknesses, where do you see yourself in five years. He or she may ask something out of left field - "Did you buy that suit just for this interview?" "Do you like clowns?" "What do you think about Bush's chances in '04?" "Do you think women make good managers?" "If you were a cloud, what kind would you be?" If you think the recruiter is just odd but harmless, dodge the question with a laugh and bridge to a point you want to make about yourself. You could say, "That's an interesting question, when I think of clouds it reminds me of dealing with corporate change. In my previous position I spearheaded a task force to …" If the question is simply inappropriate, it's OK to say so.

The close talker.
Straight out of Seinfeld, this person has a different idea of how much space to leave between the two of you. If it's making you crazy, fake a cough and back up your chair. Try to find an excuse to adjust your seat by dropping your pencil or getting up for a minute to look for something in your briefcase. When you return, re-adjust your chair. If this isn't possible, try leaning into the interviewer's space. Sometimes this will cause the person to back away. If you can't create a buffer zone, don't let it bother you, consider the closeness as intense interest in you and stay focused on your key messages.



Whatever screwball behavior you encounter, take charge of the interview. Put the question you want to answer on the table then answer it. You came to talk about yourself. If you can relate at least one interesting example of how you solved a problem, achieved a goal or contributed to a team, you may actually engage the interviewer in a dialog about you. After the interview, follow up with a brief thank-you letter that re-states the key messages your intergalactic interviewer may or may not have heard.