You’re Allowed to Joke During an Interview

Recently, Ron Rosenberg of QualityTalk was telling the story of his trip to the airport to exchange some tickets. The trip was the culmination of a series of very frustrating phone calls and a trip to the city ticket office that unfortunately was closed that weekend.

Ron had wasted an incredible amount of time exchanging tickets, and, needless to say, was in a bad mood as he left the airport.

He stopped at the parking lot toll window and handed the clerk his ticket. She put it in the slot to be read; and in a perfectly matter-of-fact voice, said “That will be $75 and you¹ll have to give me your credit card too.”

As Ron was just about to grab his credit card out of his wallet, her words finally registered. “What?” his mind screamed. “The fee should only be 75 cents!” He got a puzzled look on his face, and as he turned back to look at her, noticed that she had a huge grin on her face. He started to smile too as she chuckled and said, “Made ya smile!”

They say comedy is all about timing, and this humor came at a time when he was most tense.

Interviews are another one of those times, and livening them up by making a joke or cracking a smile once in a while won’t hurt. If you do it enough, it will be contagious, spreading throughout the rest of your day, and the rest of your employees’ days.

SOURCE: © 1999 QualityTalk. All Rights Reserved. Ron Rosenberg, President, QualityTalk, 800-260-0662, www.qualitytalk.com