Don't be affraid to lose

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Ok, so losing has a bad reputation. But any of you who have been watching The Apprentice over the last few weeks will know that many key lessons can be learned from not getting to the top straight away.

The con is that having been through an interview process and not been successful can highlight a weakness, but the pro to this is that it actually gives you time to re-assess, and go away and work on them.

When you come to the next interview you are likely to be asked what your key strengths and weaknesses are, but the trick is to turn it around...

For example:

A weakness may be "poor presentation skills". It may be a matter of confidence, or simply not giving yourself enough time to prepare... BUT if you can successfully show willing to take steps to correct this (or discuss clearly how you are doing this already), then you quickly turn your weakness into a development area. Do your personal SWOT analysis, and think SMART!

If you are feeling depleted at the end of this year, after no doubt some highs and lows in the job-search market, then try looking at where you may have lost in a different way and start turning those weaknesses, into opportunities.

For more practical advice on preparing for an interview, please contact us for a FREE copy of our GradGuide2010.