Interview Hypocrite

Kathryn Crawford Saxer Career Management

I was coaching a client recently on prepping for an interview.  I asked him to practice his personal narrative, to answer the question, “So tell me about yourself and why you’re interested in this position.”

I drifted for a moment as I listened to his answer.

I recently interviewed for an executive coaching gig. And I paused and stumbled over my personal narrative. I even have it written out, a coherent explanation of how a professional coach with an MBA who writes makes sense.

But I hadn’t even thought about it before my interview. I hadn’t practiced or prepared.

I asked my client how he was going to mentally prepare for the interview.

He admitted that he usually crams before an interview.

Damn it! That’s exactly what I did. I crammed right up until the phone rang, reviewing my Evidence-Based Coaching Handbook, looking for particularly smart things to say.

“How are you going to get yourself centered and calm before your interview?” I asked.

“I get centered if I go for a bike ride,” my client said. “Or meditate.”

Me, too. I was too busy cramming to go for a run. And my reward for cramming was being shaky on the phone.

Next time I’ll do as I say.