By Liam Horan, Career Coach & Managing Director, Sli Nua Careers

The decisions we make in job interviews are crucial. When we hear the phrase “You control the interview”, we often get stomached, writes LIAM HORAN, Career Coach, Sli Nua Careers.

How can I control the interview? Surely the interview panel control the interview?

Yes, you can control the interview. Every time they ask you a question you make the decision about where you bring the answer. You decide whether you want to focus on something that benefits your candidature or something that is either a neutral or a negative for you. So when asked your hobbies, you talk about your involvement in team sport and how you have learned about leadership, camaraderie and personal discipline – because leadership, camaraderie and personal discipline happen to matter in the job you’re chasing.

Typically, you don’t talk about “hanging out with your friends” or “listening to music” because these tend not to recommend you for the job. However, if you play music, or indeed, if you write music, you can certainly bring that into the interview as illustrations of your creativity and commitment to excellence.

It’s the decisions you make that determine the flow and merit of the interview. The interview panel don’t know what you are not telling them: you know what you have in your arsenal and you have to deploy that information to the best possible value to yourself.