What happened? What did you do wrong? You did everything perfectly!
It’s happened to all of us. We researched the company, the people, the mission statement, and we knew we nailed the interview. We hear back from the recruiter who says they went with another candidate.
After a few times, you start saying to yourself, “It must be me. I’m not good enough. I’m not smart enough. I must have messed up my answers. They can see through me. I’m probably not qualified.”
Preparing for an interview can be nerve-racking, cause so much anxiety and play with our amygdala (it’s a little kidney bean-sized part of our brain that says you’re not smart enough).
The truth is you are good enough!
So how can you get your chance to stand at the alter?
Be prepared. Just reading the company’s mission statement and cultural page isn’t prepping.
Do your homework. Find out what the pain points are that the company is facing, what problems are they hiring you to solve. What unique value do you have that you’re bringing to the interview?
Start telling stories – stop answering questions with a statement.
Get curious – ask a ton of open-ended questions, so the interview turns into a conversation.
When you turn the interview into a conversation, you’ll know before you leave where you stand (pun intended).