Still in the game: interview preparation and resilience during a long job search

You have been looking for work for months. Maybe it has been six or seven months, 50 or 60 applications and just three interviews. You have assessed the roles, prepared bespoke CVs and cover letters, and addressed the essential criteria using your professional narrative. Then comes the call. You have an interview. You are still in the game.

Make your preparation count

Research the organisation, its work and its values. Consider how those values align with your own. Bring them naturally into your answers, with examples that show what they mean in practice.

Prepare examples you can adapt to the questions, rather than memorising a script. Explain the situation, what you needed to achieve, what you personally did and the result.

• Why this role? Explain what interests you about the work and the organisation.
• Your value and impact. Describe what you have achieved, the difference it made and what you could contribute.
• Questions specific to the work. Prepare for at least three likely questions based on the job description and selection criteria.
• Leadership and teamwork. Show how you lead, support others or contribute as a team member.
• Poor performance. Explain how you would listen, clarify expectations, offer support and maintain accountability.

Prepare questions of your own about the team, the manager and what success in the role would look like. You want to show what you can offer, while also deciding whether this is a workplace where you could contribute and work well.

Every interview gives you valuable intel

After the interview, debrief with yourself, your partner or someone you trust. While it is fresh, note the questions, the examples you used and anything that caught you off guard. What landed well? What could you explain more clearly next time?

Continuous improvement mattered when you were employed. It still matters when nobody is paying you to attend an interview. Recognise what went well alongside what you could improve.

A knockback does not necessarily mean you did something wrong. You may never know why another candidate was chosen. Ask for feedback where appropriate, use what is helpful and avoid turning every rejection into a judgement about your worth.

Become an intentional, professional job seeker

Writing application after application can become tedious. Give yourself something else to work towards alongside the search. Learn a skill you never had time to learn, whether that is Excel, AI tools or something relevant to your field.

Put your learning into practice. Build a small project, solve a problem or create something you can discuss in an interview. If you use AI, check its answers and make sure your applications accurately reflect your own experience.

Consider where else your experience could take you

If you have years of experience solving problems, leading teams or delivering projects, consulting, freelancing or building a business might be worth exploring. What problem could you help someone solve? Who needs that help? Which former colleagues or contacts could you reconnect with?

These paths take work and will not suit everyone. You can start by exploring an idea, having a conversation or testing a small service while continuing your job search.

Give resilience room outside the job search

Keep a routine. Get outside, move your body and make time for people and activities you enjoy. Reflect, meditate or learn something interesting that has nothing to do with getting a job.

You do not have to turn every spare hour into a productivity exercise. Keep learning, keep creating options and keep improving what you can. Your employment status does not erase your skills, experience or worth.