Most candidates prepare for interviews by rehearsing answers. Prepare by understanding the business. Before an interview, create a Strategic Brief for the role. It forces you to think beyond “What questions might they ask me?” and into: • What is this organisation trying to achieve? • What problem is this role actually being hired to solve? • What are the likely priorities and challenges? • What can I bring to the table? • What would I focus on in my first 90 days? Then use the SEAT Method to answer one of the most important interview questions: “Tell us about yourself.” S | Summary Give them the short version of who you are professionally. E | Experience Highlight the experience most relevant to the role. A | Achievements Give 2 or 3 proof points that demonstrate your impact. T | Tie it back Connect your experience directly to why you are a strong fit for this role. The mistake is giving them your life story. The goal is to give them a clear argument for why your experience makes sense for the role they are trying to fill. And yes, you can use AI to build your Strategic Brief. Just don’t outsource your thinking to it. Use this prompt: “Act as a senior strategy and executive recruitment advisor. I am applying for the role of [ROLE] at [COMPANY/ORGANISATION]. Using the job description below, analyse the organisation, its strategic priorities, the likely business problems this role is expected to solve, and the capabilities required to succeed. Create a concise Strategic Brief covering: 1. Organisation context and strategic priorities 2. What this role is really being hired to achieve 3. Key responsibilities translated into business outcomes 4. Likely challenges and opportunities 5. The capabilities and experience the ideal candidate needs 6. My strongest points of alignment 7. Gaps or weaknesses I need to manage 8. 30, 60 and 90-day priorities I could reasonably consider 9. 5 intelligent questions I should ask the interview panel 10. A concise value proposition explaining why I am a strong candidate for this role Do not simply repeat the job description. Challenge assumptions, identify what may be missing, and distinguish between facts, reasonable inferences and assumptions. My CV: [PASTE CV] Job description: [PASTE JOB DESCRIPTION]” That is how you stop preparing for the interview you think they’re going to conduct and start preparing for the business conversation they actually need to have. #career #careeradvice #corporatelife #jobsearch #jobtips - @modern_academic