Which of these 3 challenges are you facing

Hey job seeker,

How was your weekend? Seattle’s been a bit gloomy lately, but the sun's finally coming out today, which hopefully means a chance to go paddle-boarding this week.

Anyway, today I want to talk to you about some of the interview challenges that come up for mid-career and senior corporate folks. Which of these do you relate to most?

1: I’ve hired plenty of people myself, interviews should not be this hard for me!

This almost always comes up for directors and people leaders that I work with. You’ve sat on the other side of the table plenty of times, you’ve seen what works and what doesn’t, so why are you still rambling and drawing blanks when it’s your turn to be interviewed?

I made a short video going into the two reasons why this happens, and it boils down to this: CONDUCTING interviews is a completely different skillset from BEING interviewed yourself. Finding good candidates and asking the right questions is not the same thing as being able to sell your own skills, experiences, and value in a way that resonates with hiring teams.

2: I’m really good at my job, why am I struggling to come across that way in interviews?

This is something I see happening with my clients ALL the time. I regularly work with top performers who get to an interview and start rambling, or just struggle to stand out.

That’s because interviewing is a skill that’s completely separate from anything else you do in the workplace. It requires you to articulate your strengths, skills and past results, AND manage your nerves so you can perform at your best. And frankly, most of us don’t have to talk about ourselves in this way in our day-to-day work.

The good news? Interviewing is a skill - you don’t have to be born with some innate ability to develop it (you just need the right systems and frameworks!)

3: I’m not getting any feedback from my interviews, so I don’t know how to improve.

Nowadays, it’s extremely rare to get feedback after a job interview (yes, even if you ask for it). Even if you DO get feedback, it’ll probably be something vague like “we went with a candidate who was a better fit for the role.” Here’s why it happens:

1. Recruiters and companies don’t want to open themselves up to lawsuits in case they accidentally say something that could be misconstrued as biased.
2. Giving good, actionable feedback is a skill in itself and takes time - doing this for every job candidate could add hours to the process.
3. It’s uncomfortable to give REAL feedback. It’s hard to look someone in the eye and say “what you’re saying is okay, but you’re not coming across as very likable.” Unless you’re professionally invested in someone’s success, that discomfort is just not worth it for most hiring teams.

Just wanted to normalize these common interview challenges for you today, so hopefully you feel a little less alone in the process.

And if you’re ever ready to take your interviews to the next level, I'd love to help you with this stuff. Book a free 15-minute consultation to learn how we can work together to improve your interview skills. You can also check out my pricing and services ahead of time, if you'd like.

Wishing you a great week!

Best,

Tali