The Interview Is a Mirror Not a Performance
Most people treat the hiring process like a stage play: memorize your lines, deliver them with just the right pause and emphasis, then exit stage left, job offer (hopefully) in hand.
But this mindset sells you short and it sets a trap.
What would change if we treated the interview room not as a performance, but as a natural extension of how we already lead?
One of my executive coaching clients had a powerful realization this week: the hiring process isn’t some separate domain requiring special tricks. It’s a test of the very same leadership muscles we use every day. Your ability to influence, to speak with clarity under pressure, to project confidence without arrogance, and to build rapport with senior stakeholders—that’s not interview preparation. That’s executive presence in action.
In fact, the interview setting simply magnifies what’s already there:
If you’re vague in articulating your value in the workplace, it shows up double in an interview.
If you default to technical explanations instead of strategic framing, the gap becomes obvious.
If you’re inconsistent in managing energy and attention in meetings, it becomes harder to hide.
So instead of scrambling to “prepare” for interviews with ad hoc polishing, we should be building those leadership muscles consistentlybefore we're on the market.
Three shifts I recommend:
From rehearsal to readiness
Don’t reserve storytelling for interviews. Practice it in team meetings, updates, or stakeholder briefings. Good leaders always have a narrative - job-seeking or not.From performance to presence
Interviews aren’t acting gigs. You don’t need a mask. You need to connect, clearly and confidently, as yourself.From exception to extension
The hiring process isn’t a break from your leadership practice. It’s an extension of it. Treat it as such, and your next interview becomes a demonstration, not a departure.
In short, if you live your leadership, you don’t need to fake your fitness for it when hiring season comes.
That’s the real preparation.
"This is a living collection of resources that I share in my Interview Skills workshop to prepare Masters students in Singapore for the international jobs markets. It includes all the resources I refer to in the workshop and further reading. You may also find these Speaking, Executive Presence & Confidence resources useful"
Please contact me here if you would like to discuss how you may go further in this topic, watch my videos about how Executive Coaching can help you.
The purpose of our interview workshops is for students to learn:
- Understand the common interview types, uses and methods and how to prepare for them
- How to use the job ad or job description to prepare for the interview
- How to answer the common questions
- How to prepare for behavioral & situational interview methods
- Interview body-language & paralinguistics
- Self-management during the interview
- How to build the working relationship with the interviewer
- How to leave a first impression & last impression
Please use the comments section at the foot of the page to suggest resources you have found useful on this topic and I'll add them for the benefit of others.
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