This latest article from Ken Howell is adapted from the closing presentation he delivered during the Evening Workshop session at the 2026 PMI Manitoba & IIBA Winnipeg Job Fair. It includes situations that many job applicants can relate to and offers insightful perspectives from the other side of the interview table – insights worth adding to your personal book of knowledge as you prepare for your next interview.
| “After a certain point, everyone is qualified.”
It’s a phrase I’ve used for years when discussing interviews and hiring decisions. After reviewing thousands of resumes and interviewing hundreds of professionals throughout my career, I’ve learned that many hiring decisions are made long after qualifications have been established.
That idea became the focus of the close out presentation I delivered at the recent PMI and IIBA Career Fair. It also became the theme of many of the conversations that followed.
The event brought together students, newcomers to Canada, experienced professionals, and hiring organizations for an afternoon focused on careers and professional development. The other speakers I was fortunate to join were:
- Jose Manuel Castellon Alvarez, MBA who spoke about approaching your career with intention and direction, and
- Margarita Serova, CM, MA focused on visibility, networking, and building meaningful professional relationships.
I closed the speaker series with a presentation called Why Good People Don’t Get Hired (And What To Do About It).
The conversations after the presentation were just as strong as what I hoped my presentation was!
One discussion that stayed with me was with a student currently attending Red River College. She had completed high school in her home country before moving to Canada and was now working toward a new career. During our conversation, she described a recent interview where she had been asked a series of questions about how she would respond to different situations.
- How would you handle this?
- What would you do if that happened?
- How would you react in this situation?
She was frustrated because she felt she didn’t have the experience to answer the questions properly. She had never worked in the profession she was studying and assumed the interviewer was looking for examples from a role she hadn’t yet held.
As we talked, I explained that what she had encountered was a behavioural interview. More importantly, I suggested that she might be looking at the questions from the wrong perspective.
The interviewer had already reviewed her resume. They already knew she was a student. They already knew she was entering a new profession. They weren’t asking her to demonstrate experience she didn’t have. Instead, they were trying to understand how she behaves when things become difficult.
We started talking about her previous experience as a cashier. How did she deal with difficult customers? How did she react when something unexpected happened? How did she handle conflict with coworkers or stressful situations?
The interviewer wasn’t trying to determine whether she had already done the job she was applying for. They were trying to understand how she would approach challenges when she eventually did.
By the end of our conversation, I think she saw the interview differently. The questions weren’t really about experience. They were about judgment, communication, resilience, and self-awareness. The interviewer was trying to understand the person behind the resume.
A second conversation took me in a completely different direction.
I met a professional with twelve years of experience, several respected certifications, and a strong educational background. We started discussing consulting, and she admitted she wasn’t sure she was ready to make the move. When I asked why, her answer surprised me. She believed consultants needed twenty years of experience before entering the profession.
Over the years, I’ve met many people who underestimate themselves, and this felt like one of those situations. Our discussion quickly moved away from years of experience and toward the opportunities consulting can provide. We talked about exposure to different industries, continuous learning, professional development, and the ability to tackle a wide variety of challenges without changing employers.
What struck me was how differently she was evaluating herself compared to how many hiring managers would evaluate her. She was counting years.
An interviewer might be looking at something entirely different. They may be assessing communication skills, adaptability, curiosity, professionalism, and the ability to build relationships. Experience matters, but it is rarely the only factor being considered.
As the afternoon progressed, I found myself reflecting on conversations with the other excellent presenters; Jose Manuel Castellon Alvarez, MBA and Margarita Serova, CM, MA . Although their presentations focused on different aspects of career development, there was a common thread running through their and my session. Jose spoke about taking on challenges and creating opportunities through deliberate action. Margarita emphasized the importance of building genuine relationships and maintaining a professional network that helps people learn and grow. Neither message was really about resumes or certifications. Both were ultimately about people.
That same theme appeared repeatedly after my presentation. Several attendees approached me to continue discussing interviews, hiring decisions, and career development. What struck me was that most weren’t looking for shortcuts. They weren’t searching for the perfect answer to a difficult interview question or a formula that would guarantee success. They genuinely wanted to understand what happens on the other side of the table once qualifications have already been established.
My answer was largely the same one I shared during the presentation – Interviewers are trying to understand how you think.
They want to know how you approach challenges, how you learn from mistakes, how you communicate, and how you respond when things don’t go according to plan. They are trying to determine whether you can represent their organization professionally and whether you can be trusted with customers, projects, colleagues, and difficult situations.
Those answers rarely come from a certification, a designation, or a perfectly rehearsed response. More often, they emerge through stories, examples, thoughtful discussion, and genuine conversation.
As I drove home after the event, I found myself thinking less about the presentations and more about the people I had met. Students preparing to enter the workforce. Professionals considering career changes. Newcomers building new lives in Canada. Experienced practitioners exploring what comes next.
Despite their different backgrounds and experiences, many were trying to answer the same question: “How do I move forward from where I am today?”
The advice I found myself giving throughout the afternoon was surprisingly consistent:
- Be prepared.
- Share real experiences.
- Ask thoughtful questions.
- Stay curious and continue learning.
- Don’t be afraid to discuss challenges and lessons learned.
- Most importantly, be genuine!
One final thought. I’d like to thank PMI Manitoba, IIBA Winnipeg, the volunteers, and everyone involved in organizing the Career Fair. The day was filled with conversations, and that’s exactly what makes events like this valuable. Careers are built one opportunity at a time, but they’re often shaped by the conversations and relationships that happen along the way. That’s something both associations continue to foster year after year.
Please remember, the person sitting across from you is not simply evaluating your qualifications. They are trying to understand who you are, how you think, and whether they can trust you. In my experience, that trust is rarely built through perfect answers. It is built through honest conversations that allow both people to walk away feeling they understand one another a little better.
Thanks to Donna Barasi, Jonathan Wilder, Dan Lewis, and Ronald Sarran for sharing your insights and time at the Career Fair!
