When the Interview Was Never Really About You
| Type of post: | Profile news item |
| Sub-type: | No sub-type |
| Posted By: | Amanda Fisackerly |
| Status: | Current |
| Date Posted: | Thu, 5 Feb 2026 |
When the Interview Was Never Really About You
A story shared by a member recently has stayed with the team, partly because it reflects a pattern familiar to many job seekers.
The member had taken part in a three‑panel interview for a brand‑new role within the organisation: Pre-sales Consultant. They had prepared thoroughly, understood the brief, and felt a genuine connection with two of the interviewers. Yet instinctively, reading the room, the tone, the body language, and the non‑verbal cues that experience has taught them to trust, they sensed that one person on the panel felt slightly out of step. Not unkind, just… misaligned.
After receiving the news that their application was not being taken forward, the member asked talent acquisition for some honest feedback. To their credit, they provided it.
It emerged that the Delivery Manager had reluctantly written the Presales Consultant job description but had actually wanted a Solutions Architect. Budget constraints meant the title remained the same, even though the expectations did not. As a result, the member was assessed against a role that did not truly exist, by stakeholders who were not aligned on what skills and competencies they were trying to hire.
The member had not “failed”.
They had simply walked into a situation shaped by undisclosed agendas, competing priorities, and unclear needs, the sort of environment where even the strongest applicant would struggle to land well.
At M3 Job Club, this scenario is more common than many realise. Members often internalise organisational confusion as personal inadequacy. They assume they have fallen short, when in reality the organisation has not yet worked out what “good” looks like, or what combination of skills, experience and characteristics is genuinely required to do the job, rather than the cobbled‑together wish‑list of impossibilities.
One of the core messages reinforced throughout the programme is that job‑hunting success is not solely about capability. It is also about context, organisational readiness, and whether the employer is genuinely clear on what it needs.
What stood out most in this story was how the member processed the experience. They shared a new mantra that has helped them maintain perspective:
“WWAD” — What Would AmandaF Do.
Reset. Reflect. Don’t internalise someone else’s confusion. And keep moving.
This captures the heart of what the club aims to instil: steadiness in the face of uncertainty, a willingness to pause before self‑blame, and the confidence to recognise when the situation, not the person, is the element out of alignment.
Most often, our members are absolutely the right people, simply standing in the wrong room.
(picture credit : original artwork by Charlie Macksey, colouration added by another)
A story shared by a member recently has stayed with the team, partly because it reflects a pattern familiar to many job seekers.
The member had taken part in a three‑panel interview for a brand‑new role within the organisation: Pre-sales Consultant. They had prepared thoroughly, understood the brief, and felt a genuine connection with two of the interviewers. Yet instinctively, reading the room, the tone, the body language, and the non‑verbal cues that experience has taught them to trust, they sensed that one person on the panel felt slightly out of step. Not unkind, just… misaligned.
After receiving the news that their application was not being taken forward, the member asked talent acquisition for some honest feedback. To their credit, they provided it.
It emerged that the Delivery Manager had reluctantly written the Presales Consultant job description but had actually wanted a Solutions Architect. Budget constraints meant the title remained the same, even though the expectations did not. As a result, the member was assessed against a role that did not truly exist, by stakeholders who were not aligned on what skills and competencies they were trying to hire.
The member had not “failed”.
They had simply walked into a situation shaped by undisclosed agendas, competing priorities, and unclear needs, the sort of environment where even the strongest applicant would struggle to land well.
At M3 Job Club, this scenario is more common than many realise. Members often internalise organisational confusion as personal inadequacy. They assume they have fallen short, when in reality the organisation has not yet worked out what “good” looks like, or what combination of skills, experience and characteristics is genuinely required to do the job, rather than the cobbled‑together wish‑list of impossibilities.
One of the core messages reinforced throughout the programme is that job‑hunting success is not solely about capability. It is also about context, organisational readiness, and whether the employer is genuinely clear on what it needs.
What stood out most in this story was how the member processed the experience. They shared a new mantra that has helped them maintain perspective:
“WWAD” — What Would AmandaF Do.
Reset. Reflect. Don’t internalise someone else’s confusion. And keep moving.
This captures the heart of what the club aims to instil: steadiness in the face of uncertainty, a willingness to pause before self‑blame, and the confidence to recognise when the situation, not the person, is the element out of alignment.
Most often, our members are absolutely the right people, simply standing in the wrong room.
(picture credit : original artwork by Charlie Macksey, colouration added by another)
