Advice
The Interview Coaching Industry Is Broken (And I'm Part of the Problem)
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Bloody hell, where do I even start with this one?
After seventeen years running interview coaching sessions across Melbourne, Brisbane, and every other major city that'll have me, I've come to a rather uncomfortable realisation. We're teaching people to be professional liars. And frankly, I'm getting sick of it.
Don't get me wrong - I've built a decent business out of this. My clients land jobs. They send thank-you cards with photos of their new offices. Some even invite me to their Christmas parties. But something's been gnawing at me lately, especially after watching yet another graduate transform from a genuine, passionate individual into a walking, talking corporate buzzword generator.
The whole industry has become obsessed with "telling them what they want to hear." Rubbish.
The Great Performance Trap
Here's what really gets my goat: we've convinced an entire generation that authenticity is the enemy of employment. Walk into any interview coaching session in Sydney or Perth, and you'll hear the same tired advice:
"Don't mention your weaknesses." "Always have three perfect examples ready." "Mirror their body language." "Research the company's values and regurgitate them back."
I used to peddle this stuff myself. Hell, I had PowerPoint slides with colour-coded personality matrices and everything. Made me feel important. Made clients feel like they were getting value for money.
Then something happened that changed everything.
About three years ago, I was coaching this brilliant engineer - let's call her Sarah because that's actually her name and she said I could use it. Sarah had been unemployed for eight months despite having a PhD in renewable energy systems. The woman could design wind farms in her sleep, but couldn't get past a basic HR screening.
We'd spent weeks crafting the "perfect" responses. Sarah could deliver a flawless STAR methodology answer about leadership challenges. She'd memorised the company's mission statement better than their CEO probably had. She was interview-ready according to every coaching manual ever written.
She bombed. Again.
The Authenticity Revolution (Yes, I Know How That Sounds)
After Sarah's fourth rejection, I did something I'd never done before. I told her to forget everything we'd practiced.
"Next interview," I said, "just be yourself. Tell them about your obsession with sustainable energy. Admit you're nervous. Share your actual opinion about the industry's biggest challenges."
She looked at me like I'd suggested she show up in pyjamas.
But here's the thing - it worked. Not immediately, mind you. She got rejected by two more companies who were clearly looking for corporate robots. But the third company? They offered her a senior position on the spot.
The hiring manager later told her it was refreshing to interview someone who seemed genuinely passionate about the work rather than just desperate for any job.
This got me thinking (dangerous territory, I know).
What Actually Works: The Uncomfortable Truth
After completely overhauling my approach and tracking results for two years, here's what I've discovered:
Companies don't want perfect candidates. They want real humans they can work with for the next five years without wanting to throw them out the window.
The most successful placements I've had recently share three characteristics:
- They prepared thoroughly but didn't script every answer
- They asked genuine questions about challenges the role might face
- They admitted when they didn't know something instead of bullshitting their way through
I know, I know. This contradicts everything the industry teaches. But 73% of my clients who embraced this approach received offers within three interviews. That's compared to roughly 30% using traditional coaching methods.
Don't take my word for it though. Ask any hiring manager worth their salt what they think of candidates who give textbook answers to every question. I'll wait.
The Skills That Actually Matter
Instead of teaching people to be interview performers, I now focus on three core areas:
Genuine Preparation: This means understanding the role, the company's actual challenges (not just their marketing fluff), and having thoughtful questions. It's amazing how many candidates show up having read the website but never considered what problems they'd actually be solving.
Authentic Storytelling: Not memorised STAR responses, but real stories about their work, failures included. The best interviews I've witnessed involve candidates talking passionately about projects that went sideways and what they learned.
Confident Curiosity: Teaching people to see interviews as mutual evaluation, not one-sided interrogation. If you can't ask probing questions about the role, you probably shouldn't want it anyway.
The Melbourne Experiment
Last year, I ran a pilot program with a group of career changers in Melbourne. Half received traditional coaching (the old me approach). Half got what I'm calling "reality-based preparation."
The traditional group had a 35% success rate. The reality-based group? 68%.
More importantly, the reality-based group reported higher job satisfaction six months later. Turns out, when you're authentic during the interview process, you're more likely to end up in roles that actually suit you. Revolutionary concept, right?
Where Most Coaches Get It Wrong
The coaching industry has become obsessed with eliminating all risk from the interview process. We've created this fantasy where the perfect candidate says the perfect things and gets the perfect job.
Real life doesn't work like that.
Companies like Atlassian and Canva (yes, I'm name-dropping, sue me) have built their reputations on hiring people who bring authentic perspectives, not corporate speak merchants. Their interview processes reflect this - they want to see how you think, not how well you've memorised coaching scripts.
Yet here we are, still teaching people to suppress their personalities in favour of generic "professional" personas.
It's madness.
The Practical Stuff (Because You Probably Want Actual Advice)
If you're facing interviews soon, here's what I recommend:
Before the interview:
- Research the company's actual challenges, not just their success stories
- Prepare 2-3 genuine stories about your work, including things that didn't go perfectly
- List real questions about the role that matter to you
During the interview:
- Listen to the actual questions being asked instead of waiting for your turn to perform
- Admit when you don't know something, then explain how you'd figure it out
- Ask about the team dynamics, current challenges, and growth opportunities
After the interview:
- Send a thank-you note that references specific conversation points, not generic gratitude
Simple stuff, really. But apparently revolutionary in an industry built on manufactured perfection.
The Uncomfortable Reality About Rejection
Here's something most coaches won't tell you: rejection often has nothing to do with your interview performance. Sometimes the hiring manager's nephew needs a job. Sometimes they've already decided on an internal candidate but have to interview externally for policy reasons. Sometimes the role gets cancelled the day before your interview but nobody bothered to tell you.
This used to frustrate me until I realised it's actually liberating. If authenticity doesn't get you the job, you probably didn't want to work there anyway.
I've had clients who were "perfectly coached" get rejected for roles they would have hated. I've had authentically prepared clients get rejected by companies with toxic cultures they dodged like bullets.
The goal isn't to get every job. It's to get the right job.
What Needs to Change
The interview coaching industry needs to stop treating candidates like products to be polished and start helping them find genuine career fits.
This means being honest about role requirements instead of teaching people to fake competencies they don't have. It means preparing for honest conversations rather than performance art.
Most importantly, it means recognising that the best long-term career outcomes happen when both parties know what they're getting into.
I'm not saying preparation doesn't matter. Of course it does. But there's a massive difference between being prepared and being rehearsed.
The Bottom Line
After nearly two decades in this business, I've learned that authentic preparation beats perfect performance every time. Not just for landing jobs, but for landing the right jobs.
The interview coaching industry has spent so long trying to eliminate authenticity risk that we've created a different risk: placing people in roles where they'll be miserable.
Maybe it's time we started coaching people to find their right fit instead of fitting into what we think employers want.
Just a thought from someone who's finally learned the difference.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a coaching session with someone who's been told by three other coaches that they're "too honest" in interviews.
Should be interesting.