Chapter 10: Delivering an Outstanding Interview
Preparation is the differentiator
Most interviews are lost before the candidate arrives, through under preparation rather than lack of ability. Research the organisation properly, including recent news, its market position and, where possible, the background of the people interviewing you. Prepare specific, relevant questions to ask in return. Generic questions signal generic preparation.
In the room
Answer the question actually asked, not the question you had prepared for. Keep answers focused and structured rather than rambling, and be honest about gaps in your experience rather than attempting to talk around them. Interviewers consistently rate honesty about limitations, paired with a clear plan to close them, more highly than false confidence. Body language, pace and tone all carry weight too. A calm, measured delivery, with pauses to think rather than filling every silence, reads as confidence rather than hesitation.
In practice: Oliver's researched questions
Oliver prepared three detailed questions about the organisation's current strategic priorities, drawn from its most recent public announcements. The interviewer later told him it was the first interview that week where the questions had shown genuine research rather than being read off a generic list.
In practice: Hannah's honest gap
Hannah, interviewing for a senior marketing role, was asked directly about a gap in her experience with a specific type of campaign. Rather than deflecting, she acknowledged the gap honestly, then set out clearly how she had closed similar gaps in the past and what her plan would be to close this one in her first ninety days. The panel later cited that answer specifically as the reason they offered her the role over a candidate with more direct experience but a less convincing plan.
- Arriving without having researched recent news or developments at the organisation.
- Asking only generic questions that could apply to any employer.
- Talking around a gap in experience rather than addressing it honestly.
- Filling every silence rather than allowing a natural pause to think.
A note of supportIt is entirely normal for interview nerves to feel sharper than they used to after a period out of work, particularly if this is your first interview since redundancy. A degree of anxiety is not a sign that something is wrong with your approach or your candidacy. Thorough preparation is the most reliable way to bring that anxiety down to a manageable level, because it replaces uncertainty, which fuels anxiety, with familiarity, which reduces it.
- Research the organisation, the role and, where possible, your interviewers before every interview.
- Prepare two or three specific questions that could only apply to this organisation.
- Practise answering out loud, not just in your head, before the interview itself.
- Prepare an honest, confident answer for the gap in your experience you are most concerned about.
This programme gives you frameworks and actions. Your coach is where they become genuinely yours. Rather than arriving with answers, consider bringing these open questions into your next session and exploring them together:
- What do you want an interviewer to understand about you that a CV cannot show?
- Where does your preparation feel thin, and what is making it hard to address?