There are countless job interview sites out there aimed at helping prospective employees put their best foot forward in an interview situation. Most offer quite similar advice: Research the company and role. Arrive early. Know how to respond to behavioural questions using the CAR method. Dress to impress (whatever that means). Be prepared on how to answer some common questions.
It’s this last one that frustrates me. Not because it is bad advice (it is always a good idea to be able to answer ‘what is your greatest weakness’ with something a little more interesting than ‘I’m a perfectionist’), but because it is incomplete. Think of this advice as the equivalent of advising a student to prepare solely for an exam by rote learning the answers to the exams from the last couple of years, rather than getting them to focus on understanding the subject matter.
What I want to share is a quick technique which provides a more robust way of being prepared to respond to interview questions, and it is something I’ve picked up from watching, of all people, politicians.
