The Interview Era: 10 Do’s & Don’ts

The Interview Era: 10 Do’s & Don’ts

Taylor Swift has written about love, heartbreak, ambition, reinvention, reputation, bad decisions, good decisions - and, as it turns out, quite a few things that translate surprisingly well to interviewing. So, candidates: before your next interview, consider this your Eras Tour through the do’s and don’ts of making a great impression.

1. “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me.”

“Anti-Hero” — Midnights (2022)

DO: Have self-awareness.

One of the most compelling things a candidate can demonstrate is genuine self-awareness. You do not need to pretend you’ve never made a mistake, struggled with a manager, missed something, or received constructive feedback. In fact, “I’ve never really gotten negative feedback” is rarely the flex candidates think it is. Be able to talk thoughtfully about a mistake, a weakness, or an area where you’ve grown. Take ownership. Explain what you learned and what you do differently now.

DON’T: Blame every former boss, coworker, company, circumstance, or Mercury retrograde for everything that has ever gone wrong.

Accountability is attractive.

2. “…Ready for It?”

“…Ready for It?” — reputation (2017)

DO: Prepare. Really prepare.

Know who you are meeting. Understand the company. Reread the job description. Review your own résumé and be prepared to speak intelligently about every role on it. And please come with questions.

For private support roles in particular, preparation matters because the interviewer is imagining what it would feel like to rely on you. If you haven’t taken the time to understand the opportunity before the interview, it can be difficult for them to picture you anticipating their needs once you have the job.

DON’T: Show up expecting the interviewer to explain the entire opportunity from scratch.

Preparation communicates interest before you ever have to say, “I’m really interested.”

3. “I think I’ve seen this film before.”

“exile” — folklore (2020)

DO: Tell us what you’ve actually done.

Interviewers hear a lot of the same words: Organized. Proactive. Detail-oriented. Flexible. Discreet. Good under pressure.

Those are lovely qualities. They’re also much more convincing when accompanied by evidence. Instead of telling us you’re proactive, tell us about the time you noticed your executive had an impossible travel schedule and rearranged three days before anyone asked.

Instead of saying you can handle difficult personalities, give us an example. Specific stories make you memorable.

DON’T: Give polished, generic answers that could belong to any candidate interviewing for any job.

We want to understand you.

4. “You need to calm down.”

“You Need to Calm Down” — Lover (2019)

DO: Slow down.

Nerves are completely normal. We expect them. But when you’re nervous, it’s easy to talk too quickly, interrupt, over-explain, or answer a question for five minutes when 60 seconds would have done the job beautifully. Listen to the entire question. Take a second to think. Answer it. Then stop.

A little silence in an interview is not an emergency.

DON’T: Feel obligated to fill every available second with words.

Being concise and composed can communicate confidence far better than talking your way into - and then out of - an answer.

5. “I can see you.”

“I Can See You” — Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (2023)

DO: Remember that the little things are visible.

An interview begins before the first official question.

How did you communicate with the scheduler? Were you responsive? Were you gracious when something changed? Did you arrive on time? If it’s a video interview, are you somewhere reasonably quiet and professional? Are you engaged, making eye contact, and actually listening? For an assistant, household, family-office, or operational role, those details are especially meaningful. The interview process itself gives the employer a tiny preview of how you might operate once hired.

DON’T: Assume only your answers are being evaluated.

The entire experience tells a story.

6. “Never be so kind, you forget to be clever.”

“marjorie” — evermore (2020)

DO: Be warm and sharp.

You don't have to choose between being likable and being impressive.

Some of the best candidates we meet are personable, gracious, and easy to talk to while simultaneously demonstrating excellent judgment, curiosity, resourcefulness, and intelligence. Especially in high-touch support positions, that combination is powerful. Employers want someone they enjoy having around—but they also need someone they can trust to think.

DON’T: Confuse being agreeable with being an excellent candidate.

It is perfectly appropriate to have opinions, ask thoughtful questions, and demonstrate that you know how to use your judgment.

7. “I’ve got a blank space, baby.”

“Blank Space” — 1989 (2014)

DO: Explain the blank spaces.

Employment gaps happen. Careers change direction. Families relocate. People take time to care for children or parents. Companies restructure. Jobs simply don't work out. None of those things automatically disqualify you.

What creates concern is when the timeline doesn't make sense and a candidate becomes evasive when asked about it. Give a clear, straightforward explanation and move on.

DON’T: Get creative with dates, titles, responsibilities, or reasons for leaving.

A résumé does not need to tell every detail of your life. But everything it does say should be true.

8. “So casually cruel in the name of being honest.”

“All Too Well” — Red (2012)

DO: Be diplomatic when discussing former employers.

You may have worked for someone difficult. You may have left a dysfunctional organization. You may have very legitimate reasons for being unhappy. You can tell that story without eviscerating anyone.

Try: “Ultimately, our working styles weren't the right match,” followed by what you learned and what you're looking for next.

Interviewers pay attention to how you speak about people who are no longer in the room—particularly when hiring for positions involving enormous trust and discretion.

DON’T: Mistake brutal honesty for good judgment.

You can be truthful without being unkind, indiscreet, or inflammatory.

9. “Long story short, I survived.”

“long story short” — evermore (2020)

DO: Keep the long story…short.

We love context. We do not need the director's cut. One of the most valuable interviewing skills is knowing how to take a complicated situation and communicate the important pieces clearly:

Here was the situation. Here was my responsibility. Here is what I did. Here was the outcome. Done.

This is particularly important for candidates interviewing to support busy executives and principals. Clear communication is part of the job.

DON’T: Take a scenic route so long that everyone forgets the original question.

10. “I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you.”

“Long Live” — Speak Now (2010)

DO: Let us see what you actually care about.

The candidates people remember aren't always the ones with the most perfect résumé. They're often the people whose energy changes when they talk about the work they genuinely love doing.

Maybe you love creating order out of chaos. Maybe you're weirdly delighted by a complicated international itinerary. Maybe you've supported the same family for eight years and light up talking about watching their children grow. Maybe nothing makes you happier than getting your executive through an impossible week without them ever realizing how many fires you quietly extinguished. Tell us that.

DON’T: Spend the entire interview trying to reverse-engineer the “correct” answer.

A great interview isn't about performing a perfect version of yourself. It's about giving both sides enough real information to figure out whether this could be a great match. Because ultimately, that’s what we’re looking for. Not a candidate who can say everything perfectly.

A candidate who is prepared, thoughtful, honest, self-aware, interested—and someone we can genuinely imagine joining the team for the next era. Long story short: prepare well, tell the truth, read the room, be yourself—and please, please have some questions for us.

Taylor Swift lyrics may not have been written as job interview advice, but there’s a surprising amount candidates can take from them: be prepared, know your story, communicate clearly, show some self-awareness, and let your personality come through. The best interviews aren’t about delivering a perfectly rehearsed performance. They’re about helping an employer understand who you are, how you work, what you’ve learned, and why this particular opportunity makes sense for you.

So before your next job interview, do your research, practice the stories you want to tell, prepare thoughtful questions, and remember that every interaction is part of the impression you leave. And if things don’t go exactly as planned? Shake it off. There’s always another era.

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