Start with The Why

When interviewing for a new job, chances are you’ll be asked a series of questions that you haven’t had to consider since the last time you interviewed for a new job; you might even be asked something that you haven’t had to think about since college.

If your brain’s not in interview mode, you might struggle at first to arrive at concise answers and instead ramble on for a bit about your experience as a way of at least showing the interviewer that you understand what she was asking and that you’re not full of shit.

This is The How, and people don’t care so much about The How. They know what you’ve done because they’ve seen your résumé. Hell, it’s why they brought you in for an interview in the first place.

The How still matters, but interviewers want to see that you know The Why first, as in why the question matters and what the question means. Start with The Why, and save The How for the end of your answer.

If someone asked you why a frying pan has vertical edges, you wouldn’t explain to them that you made eggs for breakfast. You’d start by saying that its shape increases the surface area available for frying and keeps oil in the pan. If there’s still time after that, feel free to talk about the awesome breakfast that you had.