Your 3-Step Plan to Interview Success

In today’s hiring landscape, especially during economic uncertainty, interview success hinges less on your answers—and more on how you make the interviewer feel. Your experience might be solid. Your answers might even be technically correct. But if you don’t project trustworthiness, clarity, and certainty—you’ll be passed over. These steps will show you how to change that.

Step 1: Pass the BUL Test

Believable
Are you consistent and credible in the story you tell?
Does your resume, tone, and presence all align? Hiring managers are looking for signs that your brand is authentic—not exaggerated. Speak to facts. Give examples. And avoid over-polishing your pitch to the point of sounding rehearsed.

Understandable
Is your message clear and easy to remember?
If your story is vague, rambling, or stuffed with buzzwords, they’ll forget you by the next candidate. Simplify your message. Know your brand. Say it in plain language that resonates with the role you’re applying for.

Likeable
Are you someone they’d want to work with every day?
This isn’t about being extroverted—it’s about being respectful, engaged, and present. People hire people they connect with. Bring your full self to the table, not just your credentials.

Step 2: Speak to the Interviewer’s IPs

(Immediate Pain Points)

Hiring managers are scanning for one thing:
Can this person solve the problems I’m dealing with right now?

Before the interview, ask yourself:

• What challenges is this company/team facing?
  

• What role would I play in solving them?
  

• What results have I delivered in similar situations?
  

In the interview, position yourself as the solution—not just a fit.

Step 3: Create Emotional Certainty

In uncertain times, hiring someone is risky. Your job in the interview is to lower that risk.

Here’s how:

• Stay calm, focused, and clear under pressure
  

• Connect your past experience directly to future outcomes
  

• Reinforce how you’ll contribute to their goals—without needing hand-holding
  
  

The person who makes the hiring manager feel safe saying yes is the person who gets hired.