She wore perfume. She didn’t wear perfume.

Tried her hair up. And down.

Took notes. Took no notes.

Laughed at the interviewers jokes. Played it straight.

Acted like a big shot. Acted humble.

But still, no job offers.

Well, we figured it out.

And she promptly aced her very next interview and landed her dream job.

So, what was the problem?

Why had she struggled for so long?

Well, it wasn’t her resume.

She’d been on dozens of interviews, so her resume was working just fine.

And it wasn’t her clothing or hair or makeup or glasses either.

It was what she said that finally landed her a job – her poised, articulate and thoughtful answers to the questions the interviewers asked her.

Because here's the thing:

If your answers aren’t stellar, then superficial changes (like what you wear or don’t wear) won’t help at all.

Think of it this way:

Imagine you entered a cake baking contest judged by the world’s toughest food critic. Your cake looked beautiful with fancy icing, lots of sprinkles, and even an edible flower on top.

Unfortunately, though, you forgot an absolutely essential ingredient. And after one taste, the look on the critic's face made it perfectly clear that no amount of sprinkles or fancy frosting would have won you the blue ribbon.

On the other hand, plain brown frosting and no sprinkles would have been just fine if the cake itself was delicious, right?

Well, that’s very much like acing high-level interviews.

What you say is the essential ingredient that wins the blue ribbon.

Interviewers want a certain gut feeling.

They want to know in their heart that you belong – that you are ready and willing to contribute, that you are meant to be on the team, that you genuinely want to be there, that you are someone they can trust to get the job done.

And only great answers to interview questions will give them that feeling.