Hormones & interviews

Let's say you're a male breeder and that you'll soon being interviewing for jobs. The persons with whom you'll be interviewing share alot of professional interests - you research related topics, and have the same general approach to the profession.

Now let's say that one of your prospective employers also happens to be an attractive woman. Would some VERY gentle flirting be a good thing or a bad thing at your first 20 interview? Will some personal rapport help with the professional? Let's say you have to make the cut from ~30 prospective applicants down to 4, and that the competition will be pretty, er, stiff. Keep the communication strictly business, or make some very brief goo-goo eyes? FWIW, let's say you're 48 and on your way to looking like Peter Falk/Sam Waterston/Walter Matthau - craggily decent looking.

my gut instincts tell me NO flirting, even if done gently!

I'd say, be strictly professional......always!

They need to judge you on your MERITS....not on your abilities w/flirting!

It doesn't matter what you look like. It's just inappropriate and it may freak out the interviewer; she could end up thinking you're a potential sex harasser and refuse to hire you.

A smile, good eye contact, leavening the process with some wit, focusing on areas that you have in common - there are A LOT of ways to "flirt" or "seduce" without for a moment becoming unprofessional. Think of the behavior you would use if it were a guy you respect, and maybe smile more than you might with a guy.

Professional: Totally clean jokes or witty remarks about your common interests/research topics, showing genuine interest in what she's saying, and responding to what she's saying so that she can tell you are paying attention and thinking about it, smiling, good eye-to-eye contact w/o staring, laughing at her humorous remarks, nodding when you agree with what she's saying.

Unprofessional: Avoid any comments about her appearance or clothing (unless she's wearing an extremely unusual or striking scarf or piece of jewelry that screams for recognition "Wow, you're the 2nd person this week I've met who was wearing Georg Jensen/Paloma Picasso/Hermes, etc)", any eye contact BELOW eye level, anything REMOTELY intimate or even vaguely suggestive, NO double-entendres, no touching outside the inital handshake, and no space-invading.

Also, general tip for ALL men -- don't crush a woman's hand at handshake time. It might be something you guys do to each other, but I've got a slight touch of arthritis, and I've literally been brought to tears by a salesman's handshake. We don't need limpfishy shakes, but no need to be sure bones crunch together, either...

I want to be professional, and will be, but I don't want to simply ignor ethe fact that I'm interviewing with an attractive woman, either. Yours sounds like good advice.

that you are interviewing with an attractive woman. She could well become your boss. If you wouldn't treat a man that way, don't do it to a woman. Period.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

/edit: on second thought, I'll go with the superstition my S.O. subscribes to, and say "break a leg!"

On my way to an interview right after college I winked at an attractive blue eyed man in the lobby of the building where I was having an interview. I didn't know who he was, but he sure was good looking.

Ten minutes later I arrived at the interview and the cute guy was the HR guy. He was very serious and stern, and I was uncomfortable. The thing is, I hadn't known who he was, but he didn't know that. I didn't get a job there.

Especially in more formal situations like an interview. The interviewer is an interviewer, not an attractive person who you might want to have sex with. Treat her as you would treat a nun, without any religious discussion of course.
I have never been the interviewer. I have interviewed plenty of times though. I hate it when the interviewer is male and seems to be checking me out or trying to flirt. It really makes me uncomfortable.

slap him on the back and talk about sports? If so, you probably shouldn't do that, but otherwise act the same way you would with an attractive man, an unattractive man or an unattractive woman. "Brief goo-goo eyes"? I don't know what that means but it sounds like a very bad idea. Are you trying to get a job or a date?

In general, at an interview, one should act the way you would like them to think you would act on the job, with the professionalism turned up a notch (i.e., your behavior should parallel your wardrobe in that you should wear your best suit to the interview).

Thank you. :)

in an interview.

I would think that you might have boundary issues, which I don't need in my workplace.

edited to add: at your age hormones are no excuse for out-of-place behavior.