You’ve secured the interview.
That’s already an achievement.
Your CV has done its first job. Someone has looked at your experience and decided:
“I want to know more about this person.”
But this is where something often changes.
Candidates who were confident enough to lead teams, make difficult decisions, manage significant budgets or solve complex problems suddenly walk into an interview feeling as though they have to prove themselves.
And that’s where I’d change the mindset.
An interview isn’t an interrogation.
And you’re not there simply hoping they’ll choose you.
You’re there to have a professional conversation about whether your experience solves their problem – and whether their opportunity is right for you.
This sounds obvious, but it’s incredibly important.
You need to know what’s on your CV.
Not approximately.
All of it.
If somebody else has helped you write or improve it, that’s absolutely fine. But when you walk into an interview, every achievement, statement and figure on that document becomes yours to explain.
If your CV says you:
“Delivered significant operational efficiencies”
be prepared for:
What did you actually do?
What was the situation beforehand?
What changed?
What was your personal contribution?
What was the result?
A strong CV gets you through the door.
Being able to bring that CV to life is what helps you through the interview.
One of the weakest messages you can unintentionally give an interviewer is:
“I just need a job.”
Even if that’s how you’re feeling.
Before the interview, work out why you applied for this particular position.
What attracted you?
The organisation?
The challenge?
The team?
The opportunity to build something?
The chance to return to a particular sector?
More responsibility – or perhaps less?
There isn’t one correct answer.
But there should be an answer.
If you’ve applied simply because the salary looked right and the job appeared in your LinkedIn feed, you’re going to struggle to convince somebody that you genuinely want it.
Job descriptions are full of words such as:
Leadership.
Communication.
Commercial.
Strategic.
Collaborative.
Results-driven.
Anybody can say those things about themselves.
The interview is where you provide the evidence.
If they need someone who can lead change, think of a time when you actually did.
If stakeholder management is important, prepare an example of a difficult stakeholder relationship you successfully navigated.
If they’re looking for somebody who can improve performance, know your numbers.
You don’t need to memorise 20 different answers.
Instead, prepare several strong examples from your career that demonstrate different aspects of what you can do.
This is particularly important for senior candidates.
If you’ve improved something, by how much?
If you’ve grown something, from what to what?
If you’ve reduced costs, what was the saving?
If you’ve built a team, how large was it?
If you’ve managed a budget, what size?
If you’ve delivered a programme, what happened as a result?
Numbers give achievements credibility.
Compare:
“I was responsible for improving operational performance.”
with:
“Within 12 months we improved X from A to B, and my role was…”
The second gives an interviewer something tangible to understand and question.
The STAR technique – Situation, Task, Action, Result – can be very useful for structuring an answer.
But it’s a framework.
It isn’t a script.
I’ve heard candidates become so focused on delivering the perfect STAR answer that the conversation disappears completely.
Listen to the question.
Answer it.
Give enough context for the interviewer to understand the situation.
Explain what YOU did.
And tell them what happened as a result.
Then stop.
If they want more detail, they’ll ask.
This is the bit candidates often forget.
You are allowed to ask questions too.
In fact, I think you should.
Not questions you’ve copied from a list of “10 impressive questions to ask at interview”.
Ask things you genuinely want to know.
For example:
Why is the position available?
What would you want the successful person to have achieved after six months?
What are the biggest challenges they’ll inherit?
How would you describe the leadership style here?
What happened to the previous person in the role?
What does success actually look like?
At senior level particularly, those answers matter.
You’re potentially committing several years of your career to this organisation.
You should want to understand what you’re walking into.
Redundancy.
A career gap.
Several short-term positions.
A move that didn’t work out.
A significant change in direction.
Returning after consultancy.
Taking a lower-level role.
Don’t walk into the interview hoping nobody notices.
If it’s something an experienced Recruiter or Hiring Manager is likely to question, prepare a clear and honest answer beforehand.
You don’t need a five-minute defence.
Usually, the best answer is straightforward, factual and confident.
Own it and move on.
Interviewers aren’t generally looking for perfection.
They’re trying to work something out.
Can this person do the job?
Do I believe what they’re telling me?
Will they fit into this organisation?
Do they genuinely want to be here?
Would I trust them to deliver?
That’s why authenticity matters.
I’d rather hear a thoughtful answer followed by:
“Actually, let me think about that for a moment…”
than an obviously rehearsed response somebody has practised 25 times.
Preparation is important.
Performance isn’t.
If you’ve reached interview, they already see something in your experience.
Remember that.
You’re not walking into the room starting from zero.
The interview is your opportunity to turn what’s written on your CV into a real person with judgement, experience, personality and evidence.
Know what you’ve achieved.
Know what you’re good at.
Know why you’re interested.
Know what you want to ask them.
And don’t spend the whole interview worrying about whether they like you.
Ask yourself something equally important:
Do I like them?
That’s when an interview stops feeling like an interrogation and starts becoming what it should be.
A two-way professional conversation.
If you’re securing interviews but not progressing, it may be worth looking at how you’re presenting your experience once you’re in the room.
My Professional CV™ provides recruiter-led CV, interview and job search support built around more than 25 years of recruitment experience.
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Your CV gets you into the room. Once you’re there, own the interview.
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