Make a better interview impression

One interview strategy that you need to implement starting TODAY:

End every answer-- even for the backfoot questions-- on a positive.

Let me give you an example.

First of all, what is a backfoot question?

This is the type of question an interviewer might ask to challenge your qualifications for the role or try to uncover things they may deem as a red flag.

These are the questions that can seem to have a "negative" connotation, such as:

"What are your weaknesses?"

"Tell me about a time you made a mistake."

"Why do you have a gap in employment on your resume?"

They're meant to put you on your "back foot" and test your confidence on questions that aren't about how "great" you are.

Last week, I spoke with a job seeker who asked me how to handle situations when employers ask her about the gap in her employment.

In her particular case, she had some health matters to handle with a family member and needed to take time off.

When answering these types of questions, we don't want any concerns to linger. It is unfortunate, but the cold truth is that some employers may see this type of situation as a risk.

They may think, "If I hire this person, will they have to miss more large chunks of time to care for their family member?" Will they be reliable? Are they telling the truth about this employment gap?"

Employers & hiring managers often have a lot at stake during hiring processes and are under pressure to make the right decision.

We don't want to give them any ammunition for disqualifying us due to circumstances that may be outside of our control.

In this particular situation, you want to be forward and truthful, but take back full control of the perspective by finishing on a positive.

Here's an example of what that looks like:

Do you see how we've still answered the question truthfully but then immediately grabbed back control?

The last thing the interviewer remembers from your answer is that you're going to solve XYZ for them, not the fact that you've had to miss time for a sick family member.

It's a great psychological trick.

Have you ever been to a restaurant and asked your server to list the types of salad dressings, wing sauces, or draft beers they have?

If it's a long list more than 5, you're more likely to choose one of the last options they mentioned because it's all you can focus on and remember.

End on a positive!

For one of my clients, this was all he needed to adjust to finally land an offer. After 15 interviews and no offers, we made this one simple adjustment to his approach.

Two interviews later, he had an offer.

If you need some practice with this approach, I offer FIVE calls one-on-one to help you polish this approach and your entire interview performance.

Want to discuss how this process will help you? I’ll walk you through it step by step.