How to avoid bunny trailing in job interviews

What is bunny trailing?

The Urban dictionary defines it as rabbit trail:

• veering off subject or of the point of the conversation
• A story or explanation leading nowhere.
• making statements with no real purpose just for the sake of stating it.

“Dude, I just wanted you to explain to me how to get to Wendy’s, you’re going on a rabbit trail here, get to the point!”

You do need stories in your resumes and job interviews

Resume writers are storytellers by nature using examples and anecdotes to illustrate a point. Though resume writing means writing tighter and leaner, an effective resume needs stories to pinpoint accomplishments. When you get to the interview stage, you also need stories to tell but the stories need to stay on track.

Bunny Trailing is when you start talking about one thing and it leads you to another. You may tell interesting (hopefully) stories but they are far off the mark from the accomplishment-driven stories you should share in the interview.

Tips for avoiding bunny trails in interviews

• Plan ahead for the interview (phone or in-person). This will keep you on track.
• Do your homework in advance to study company history, products, services, and their promise to their clients or customers.
• Invest in Design Resume’s Preferred Package to coach with Design Resumes partner, The Landing Expert. With stellar career marketing materials written by Julie (me) and coaching with Alex to help you prepare for the difficult question that troubles you.
• Review interview questions online for other organizations. Google “interview questions”
• Write stories down to finesse your stories and make sure they illustrate a success or achievement without taking an hour to get there.
• Use thoughtful and insightful questions about the mission of the organization or product line.
• Practice in mock interviews with friends or family.

I continually work on avoiding bunny trails in my conversations.

How about you? If the bunny trail is a problem for you, try the tips above. You will experience much more success in your conversations and in the job interview.

If you would like to talk with me about working together, I offer three ways to reach out to me on my new Contact page. Hope to hear from you soon!