Creating your own personal brand for job interviews.

This is something I always keep in mind. Perhaps inspired by some other advice which I can't recall in detail and certainly inspired by spending countless hours talking to candidates while running the recruitment process for software development teams. I create my own brand motto when preparing for interview. Nothing difficult or complex but something that I believe in, something I always do and something that defines my approach. Having my personal brand motto helps me to stay focused and true to myself when answering tricky questions. I don't actually reveal to anyone or word it during the interview, it is just something that I keep in mind during the interview.

Example could be: Quality is the most important aspect of my work, putting quality first and never letting it slip, always ensuring the highest possible standard is a key

Nothing special, is it? I would still make sure that this sentence sticks in my head. In my mind I represent everything that this motto defines. What this gives me is a focus and also confidence in that I have something to rely on in tricky situations. Any question I am being asked, any topic I am developing I always check back and ask myself, how does this fit with my brand motto.

Here is an example I have encountered countless times when interviewing a candidate claiming that quality is their priority:

Question I have asked: How do you ensure quality?
Candidate answered: I make sure I follow principles like... (good answer, good discussion, candidate understands the common best practices and principles)

Question I have asked: So it seems like you are very quality focused, would you say that quality of your craftsmanship is key for you?
Candidate answers: Yes, writing maintainable, clean code... (again, solid answer and good discussion)

Question I have asked: So imagine product owner comes to you one day and says- we have this deadline which cannot be moved and we still have number of small features to finish. For the business it is unthinkable to sacrifice the deadline. Can you just stop doing all those test, following those crazy quality principles, just make things work so we can get all the features deployed on time. This is really important for us. What would be your response?
Candidate answered: Well, of course I would stop doing what I am doing, stop doing tests and refactoring and just try to get it done.

This is only an example but I hope it represents what I am trying to say. With the last question candidate has just ditched everything he so strongly believes in. It isn't even a trick question, it is just a question that can even further strengthen the stand the candidate took, in regards to what he or she believes is important even if someone questions it. After the last answer I can't stop asking my self if the candidate really believed in what he or she was saying. I am not sure now if the candidate is quality focused or purely focused on pleasing the business. I am unsure if the candidate understands implication of either.

In these sort of situation having your brand motto could come handy. I think there is hardly only one right answer to many of the questions you can get asked during the interview but putting across a clear message about what you believe in and sticking with it will create a more consistent idea. There might be less doubts about your understanding of what it takes to implement your beliefs in practice. Ultimately, if your brand motto is spot on you might find that you are taking more control of interview process by not shifting your focus only to please the interviewer. Your new job could be an environment in which you will spend between 3 months and a lifetime. Why wouldn't you make sure you don't hate it from a day one because you are doing something you don't believe in?