An ambitious young advertising executive called me last week in tears. Between sobs, she managed to report that she’d just been through the most demeaning experience of her career.

“Were you fired?” I asked, radiating sympathy and paternal concern. “Demoted?”

“No,” she said. “Worse.”

“Sexual harassment?” I said. “Just tell me who it was and I’ll lash him with my acid tongue.”

“More humiliating,” she whispered hoarsely.

“Don’t tell me they cut your dental coverage,” I said. This was potentially serious stuff.

“No,” she said. “I was interviewing for that Managing Director position in our Sydney office. And I had to meet with the agency’s Chief Recruiting Officer in London.”

“What happened?” I said. “Was there a problem? Did she make you eat English food? Were there kidneys involved?”

“It’s not a joke. She asked me…she asked…”

“C’mon, you can do it. Tell me what she said.”

“She asked me if I were a breakfast cereal, what kind would I be!”

“Um…alright. And what did you say?”

“That’s the problem…I froze! I didn’t know to say. I just sat there like an idiot with a big dumb grin on my face. It was the worst interview ever!”

“Okay,” I admitted. “That is huge. I can’t believe you screwed up so badly, particularly with your credentials. Say, where do you see yourself in five years - what about in ten - if you can’t even answer a simple question? Why should they hire you?”

“You’re not making this easier,” she whimpered.

“Try to relax,” I said reassuringly. “Maybe you’ll feel better if you tell me about your worst boss.”

Ever notice how every single person you’ve met throughout your whole life thinks they have a good sense of humor? Good taste in clothes? Believe themselves to be a nice person? A good judge of character? A good interviewer? What’s up with that?

Ensuring a successful hire is both art and science. Multiple, inter

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