By Yvonne LaRose

Our present economy makes recruiting and sourcing an extremely exacting science. The amount of time spent in finding the right person for the job is critical and every aspect of ascertaining that you've got a good fit is necessary before making an offer. Hire the wrong person or present the wrong candidate (in the case of a recruiter) and the costs increase in many ways. The recruiter will have a lot of work to do to keep the client. The client will either have to fire the bad fit or spend even more money on hoping additional training or retraining will make the square block fit in the round hole.

So, it's one thing to answer honestly, it's another to say what you think the interviewer wants to hear when he springs a question on you during the interview about how you'd handle criticism. The interviewer is looking for a number of things, an honest answer and self assessment are among them.

Pandering to the interviewer, telling them what they want to hear, is convenient but ineffective. Not only will the interviewer see through this, he will more or less either tune you out then and there and merely go through the motions of any further interview, end the meeting and thank you for your time, or else listen even more attentively to see how many other fabrications you'll come up with.

Better to take a moment to consider the question, who you are, what your style is, then formulate the "best foot forward" answer; then speak.

Criticism is something that is given with great difficulty. When it is expressed, it's usually done in order to help the person see where there can be improvement. The person who criticizes for the sake of making himself feel superior at the expense of another's self esteem is the mark of someone who is not yet mature and needs a lot of people skills training. That person is as poor a risk as the one who yells in response to criticism.

One sign of a good manager or good management material is a person who is unflappable. That is to say, the person stays cool under the most rigorous of circumstances. Not only is this a sign of a good manager, it indicates the person has a high degree of emotional maturity. They can take criticism as constructive information and use it for self improvement.

When a person has a volatile or hostile response to criticism, major red flags should go up for everyone concerned. This person has little self control, a low degree of emotional maturity, gives very little thought to acts and consequences, and is poor management material. Even more, this is one of the indicators of a person who could become violent under the certain circumstances. The liabilities are high with this type of profile. The candidate will be bypassed. It's just as well because the fit would be bad for both sides.

Goodwill is an important asset of every company. Part of the intangible elements that make up goodwill are quick, responsive customer service, professionalism, good problem-solving skills, tact, and a positive, upbeat attitude, in addition to good, sound knowledge of your area of responsibility. Another aspect of goodwill is being able to be nonplussed under the most trying of circumstances. These are all signs of good management material -- a person who is mature and responsible.

Unfortunately, many businesses are now employing people who do not hold those values dear and are not concerned with repeat business. Instead these employees focus on the here and now and totally disregard nurturing growth of customer and co-worker relationships. Yelling in response to criticism is one indicator that a person is lacking skills and knowledge of goodwill and professionalism. It is best to bypass that person and look for a better candidate, whether for management or not.

One good thing that is now occurring in business, with costs rising so much and few areas for reducing those costs, is to screen candidates carefully to determine whether they possess these goodwill skills or have the potential to develop them. Another good thing that's happening is an increasing "no tolerance" policy when it comes to violence generally and particularly in the workplace. So expect some version of "How do you handle criticism?" when you're interviewing.

Another important aspect of how a person handles criticism is when it comes from a client. This is a time to listen carefully, not argue. This is a time to take note of what's being said and respond with tact and professionalism. Finally, this is a time to use that feedback to modify how you're working in order to reduce the objections and increase the appreciation.

A good manager will listen not only to the client but to their staff. A good manager discusses the operative dynamics of being able to give constructive criticism and receive it. Basically, this is valuable input. Gaining constructive criticism from the client or manager and using it in the proper way will do a lot toward make that relationship increase in value and duration.