10 chairs you might encounter during a job interview
So your resume and cover letter were perfect — and you landed the interview — but are you prepared for the chairs you might have to sit on?
There's a lot of content out there about advice for your resume, cover letter, personal brand, what to wear to an interview and how strong to go on the handshake, but no one ever prepares you for perhaps the most important aspect of the interview: the chair.
The chair you are offered (or not offered) can tell you a lot about company culture. Next time you're at a job interview, think about this list of the possible chairs you'll encounter on your job hunt, and maybe you’ll find yourself sitting in one at your new job.
1.) The spinny chair
The everyman’s chair. Old Faithful, if you will. The chair on which you’ve held spinning contests (when no one was looking).
This chair makes it far too easy to fidget and you'll be inclined to rock back and forth on it during an interview. If a non-spinny chair exists in the room you are in, you may want to try and sneak your way on to it to avoid regressing to your inner 12-year-old.
2.) Broken
This is perhaps the worst of all chairs. Maybe it's unbalanced, and you’re forced to rest your right arm six inches higher than your left. Maybe the hydraulics are malfunctioning and you are stuck at a level lower or higher than you'd like (being at eye level with your interviewer is ideal). You can’t help but wonder, “was this chair purposefully planted in the room?” “Is this a test?” You'll never know, but don't let it distract you, focus instead on what you do have control over — your winning personality and stellar resume.
3.) Adirondack
Maybe you're applying with a company that spends a lot of time outdoors (landscapers, utility workers) or for a company focused on nature and the Earth (organic supermarkets) or even an office gig with a laid back culture. In any case, the Adirondack chair can be the most challenging if it is sprung on you as a surprise. It can lower your guard, cause drowsiness, or hallucinations of beach vacations in even the best interviewees — so take your cup of coffee or water, swig it like it’s a frozen drink and show that interviewer that you can hang in any circumstance.
4.) Looks soft, but is actually hard
Assume the worst, hope for the best. Seat yourself with caution (no one likes a bruised tailbone). This chair might actually be a metaphor for the culture at the company with which you’re interviewing.
5.) No chair at all
This could indicate that the company will have a lot of standing desks, or that the company can't afford enough chairs. Consider this a sign, especially if you’d like to work on your posture.
6.) An exercise ball
This is a very new-age or health-oriented company. A start-up or an established company pretending to be a start-up. If you are interviewing at that type of a company, we suggest working on your core as a pre-requisite.
7.) Hammock
Cool! But you’re at the wrong address, and you’re probably late for your interview.
8.) Giant beanbag chair
Remember, an interview works both ways. Be prepared to ask some well-pointed questions to your interviewer: Such as why you’re sitting on giant beanbag chairs and not real chairs?
9.) The sofa
Although technically a place to sit, this is not, in fact, a chair. It will be comfortable and supportive, so it may present one of the best opportunities for you to just be yourself. Please consider that the sofa is only viable as long as the interviewer is sitting on a seat independent of the sofa. Note: Avoid love seats.
10.) Is it art or is it a chair?
WARNING: This may be a test; exercise caution. We’ve all heard about the impossible interview questions and the hoops some highly desired companies put their interviewees through. They may strategically place a piece of art for you to sit on, but take pause and use the following workaround: Jump in early and ask: “Which seat would you like?” — but point in the vicinity of the art in question. Assess first, sit second.
