Me: ‘What other strengths may you have?’

Client: ‘Oh, yes.. I’m quiet.’

*Er.. Ok… How is that a strength?!* ‘What does that mean..?’

‘Well, I don’t speak much. I’m happy to be quiet and just listen. When I’m working I don’t like to talk about anything other than the flying.’

‘How is this a strength to the company?’

‘So you can concentrate on doing a good job. I’m different from other pilots who love talking and gossiping. If you do that all the time you get distracted! It’s a safety issue! I’ve heard others complain that I’m boring, that I don’t say a word at work, unlike some others who usually don’t like the silence!’

Next time when you go on an interview, talk about the why! Don’t just say what you’ve got or what you’ve done, but why this is important to the future manager / company / team! Connect the dots for them! Do the hard work for them! Don’t give an amazing performance telling your amazing career story and then leave the interviewer hanging there with ‘so..?’! What good does it do if they can’t connect to what matters to them?!