By Chelsea Babin

For whatever reason you feel like your job experience is less than impressive but you’ve managed to score an interview anyways. Instead of letting it get you down, use the following tips to help fix your attitude and give you the best plan of action for talking about the employment gaps, unrelated jobs, or lack of experience in your upcoming interview.

1. All About Attitude: If you don’t go into the job interview with a positive mindset, how can you expect to make a positive impression? Ditch the bitterness and focus on preparing for questions they could potentially throw your way. Additionally, learn a bit about the company and the people interviewing you so you can prepare questions of your own. You may never really feel like your job experience is up-to-par but you can at least feel positive and prepared when heading into any interview.

2. Find Ways to Relate the Unrelated: Whether you accepted an unrelated position to have a job while you were looking for a better opportunity or you’re planning on moving into a different field, finding ways to relate your seemingly unrelated experience to the current opportunity you’re interviewing for is essential. If you want your interview to go well, be prepared to explain how skills you’ve developed in unrelated position will cross over into this new opportunity. For example, if you’ve been developing a project with your friends on your own time while working with a different set of technologies in your current job, this makes you versatile, able to juggle multiple projects, and shows that you have the drive to learn new technologies. Linking seemingly unrelated jobs together may not be as difficult as you think! Just write down the skills you need to handle your unrelated jobs and write down the skills you think you’ll need to handle the position you’re interviewing for. Notice any similarities? Those are the ones to bring up in your interview!

3. Explain Your Gaps: Never lie about the gaps in your work history. Instead, be prepared to explain them in every interview for the rest of all time from as positive an angle as you can manage. Were you taking coding classes while you were unemployed and searching for a new opportunity? Mention that! Were you taking care of an ill family member? Mention that! As long as you don’t tell employers that you were sitting around on your couch doing nothing, you will be able to explain your gaps in a way that makes unemployment look like less of a negative blip on your resume.

4. Avoid the Blame Game: Maybe you were laid off during the Great Recession or maybe the last company you were at was incredibly mismanaged and you just couldn’t take it any more. Whatever you do, don’t blame your less than impressive transitions on anyone. Ranting about an old boss you hate or the reasons you lost your last job will do you no favors in your interview. Blame in an interview can often make you look bitter, angry, and like you avoid accountability. Avoid it at all costs!

5. Focus On the Skills You Have: Maybe you don’t have the exact skill set for the job but, if you focus on the skills you do have and the fact that you’re always willing to learn, you can make up for it! Bringing up your strengths and linking them to the skills you may not have fully developed can also create a clear path in the interviewer’s mind that will help them see how you can go from point A (your current level of experience) to point B (the level they’d like you to be at).

Don’t let your insecurities about your less than impressive job experience stand in the way at your next interview. With the right frame of mind, a little preparation, and a positive attitude you can reframe and explain any career blip in a way that will satisfy most potential employers. Good luck in your next interview!