[caminante]

Staying calm and speaking during confrontations is a learnable skill. I humbly recommend reading the book Crucial Conversations, if you haven't read it, then practicing the techniques.

I tell my "underlings" to breathe (with their diaphragm), to take their time, and to carry their voice.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Conversations-Talking-Stakes-S...

[kriro]

Good book recommendation but my personal reaction if I ever encountered this during an interview would simply be standing up and excusing myself due to the lack of "cultural fit". Sure sometimes you need a job but compromising during job interviews is a pretty bad thing imo. You'll spend a good chunk of your time at a place, just walk if it smells funny.

[jazzyk]

Agreed, and that's why it pays to have some fuck-you money set aside, so that you can survive a few more weeks while looking for another job.

IT is so pervasive now, there is almost always another job.

[chris_wot]

Yeah, but another valuable skill is knowing that if you are treated this badly in an interview that even if you really want the job, sometimes it's best to walk away.

[Mendenhall]

I would probably politely ask the person if they were acting like a clown as an interview technique or if they were in fact an clown. No need to bother with disrespectful people.

[caminante]

Good point

...and that's in the book! ;-)

edit: I think the key is that there's a dominant technique, regardless of whether you're getting trolled.