This is credited to the Stoics. It means premeditation of evils. They use it in the context of preparing for a catastrophe. In other words, “what are we going to do if things go wrong…how can they go wrong…what if.”
Every candidate whoever interviewed for a job should prepare themselves for “what can go wrong in my interview?” Very few candidates ever even imagine that things can go wrong. Most every candidate I’ve ever interviewed thinks that they interview extremely well to begin with and never even imagine that things can go wrong. And, when things do go wrong, they have no idea how to respond.
What is most important for job seekers to understand is that they prepare themselves for everything to go right and things rarely do. Traffic is going to be bad. If you’re flying somewhere for a corporate visit, especially in the winter, expect plane delays or even cancellations. What are you going to do if you get lost, didn’t leave for your destination soon enough…and YOU are late. What if you arrive on time, but the interviewing authority is late. What if the interviewing authority turns out to be somebody different than who you thought you were going to interview with? What if you get a question you’ve never been asked before and you have absolutely no idea how to answer it.
A teach in the Job Search Solution (www.thejobsearchsolution.com) is about all of the things that could go wrong in just about every level of interviewing. It is one of the least reviewed sessions. I’d be willing to wager that things go wrong in some way, shape or form at least 33% of the time. The key is to try to come up with what you might think would be the major things that can go wrong and prepare for what you’re going to do if and when they do.
