Why You Need to Bring Your Own Agenda to Interviews

My People -- You 👏🏽 must 👏🏽 bring 👏🏽 your own 👏🏽 agenda 👏🏽 to 👏🏽 interviews. 

No matter the questions you get, you need to find ways to insert compelling elements of your story and experience.

If you are qualified for the jobs you apply for but aren't getting offers, this blog is for you!

The people who are winning and getting offers go into interviews knowing how to control their narrative and what they want to share.

You must know what you want to get across no matter how the interviews are structured.

Many people think interviewing is all about answering questions correctly.

In reality, interviews are more about sharing a compelling and relevant career narrative.

It's an opportunity for you to sell yourself and share curated and specific stories.

Because when you get rejected, it's not who you really are that's being rejected.

It's the story of who they think you are that is getting rejected.

That means in interviews you must always have your own agenda for the story and narrative you’d like to convey.

You won't be able to predict every question, but you can build a toolbox of stories and examples that show off your value and skills.

Always find ways to share impressive and relevant points and insert them into your answers.

This is how you control your narrative and sound confident.

While it may seem like the interviewer has all the power because they are asking the questions, you also influence where the conversation goes.

In fact, wherever you take the conversation or story, is where the interviewers will follow you.

They will ask follow-up questions or potentially shift the direction of the interview based on your answers.

So if you don't want to highlight a particular part of your career or project or job, don't bring it up!

In fact, don't even put it on your resume ideally. 

That way you won't get questions about it. 

Just remember, the impression you make in interviews is the value others are perceiving about you.

And the interview stories you tell and the examples you share are in your control.

So, audit your interview narrative because it may be vague or too abstract. 

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Side note: In Module 4 of my workbook, Be Your Own Recruiter, I share in-depth interview tricks to ace your late-stage interviews and get offers.
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Not everyone is good at saying what's in their head convincingly. 

Which means you must put in practice to get better.

Here are a few tips to improve your interview skills:
--Write out your answers, and practice them out loud
--Answer the core essence of the questions being asked
--Make sure your story is easy to understand and concise
--Do mock interviews and get feedback on your performance

Learning to articulate your thoughts clearly and concisely takes practice.

Hiring teams really want you to succeed.

So put in the reps. 💪🏾

Focus on the things you can control for better outcomes.

Being prepared is in your control and what you share in interviews is in your control. 

P.S. Check out Module 4 of the workbook for details on how to structure interview answers and improve your interview outcomes.