4. SET UP AN INTERVIEW
Once you have a few viable options, you're ready for a crucial part in the process of selecting a roommate: the interview. This will be your chance to find people who you just know will match you perfectly, and to screen out candidates such as Crazy Flo (who has an odd odor of lighter fluid about her).
The interview is a pretty simple endeavor: you get together with candidate and discuss what each one of you wants in a roommate. But the most important thing is for you to be honest and for you to get honest vibes from the candidate.
Here's how to set up and conduct the interview:
- If after emailing and talking on the phone you feel that the person is reasonably safe, tell him/her that you'd like to get to get together for a meeting without insinuating that you've definitely decided to room with him/her.
- If you're fairly certain that this person won't drive a hammer through your skull, you might suggest an interview in the actual apartment so the person (or you) can see what it looks like and where it is. However, in our ultra-paranoid world, it's more customary to meet someone for the first time in a public place such as a restaurant or a coffee shop.
- When the actual meeting comes, bring along your credit report and references and ask the potential roommate to do the same.
- Remember that it isn't an FBI interrogation. The interview should be a friendly conversation that allows you two to get to know each other and find out if you're compatible to live together. So leave the heat lamps and handcuffs behind.
- During the meeting, you'll have to be very perceptive. Not only listen carefully, but also try to gauge his/her honesty as well as your comfort level talking to him/her. Remember that most people won't sit down and say, "my last roommate kicked me out because I keep live rats in the microwave, so consider that when making your selection." Would you?
