Casual interview conversations can be critical

You've done it. You've just completed the formal interview for a job, and by all indications, things look like they went well.

Of course, you did all your homework and worked on your body language. You sat up straight, looked the interviewer in the eye, gave professional answers and remembered not to say "you know," or "uh" too much. All in all, you're feeling like this job is in the bag.

Then the interviewer asks you, ever so casually, about whether you saw the big game last night. Hold on. While this may seem like a perfectly harmless way to pass a few minutes before you leave, just another friendly indication that they like you, it may be much more than that. It may be the toughest part of the interview yet.

"Do you like to travel?" or "Do you have pets?" all sound harmless, but what these kinds of questions do is to lull you into a kind of complacency. And that is where you can get into trouble.

Sure, I saw the game last night," you say. "But the refs were obviously on the take. They were terrible. The crowd should have jumped them in the parking lot."

OK. Now you've just shown yourself to be a) a bad sport, b) overly critical and c) possibly violent. You may scoff and say you were only shooting the breeze, and meant no harm, but to an interviewer who has only known you for less than an hour, the impression left by your remark may not be seen as favorable.

A better answer? "Yes, I saw the game. It was very exciting. Lots of good teamwork out there." Ah-hah! Now the interviewer is left with an impression of someone who appreciates hard work and the ability to work with others.

It's not that interviewers are deliberately trying to trip you up, but it is their job to try and see the job candidate from all angles. That means they try to get a feel for how you would fit into the company culture, how you would work with other employees, or the impression you might make on clients. That's when they usually offer to take you out for a meal.