Dale: We get wonderful mail, often with great advice, and we enjoy passing the best of it along.

J.T.: What follows is from Ed Leighton of Phoenix, responding to our discussion of someone dealing with job-interview anxiety:

ED: You know how politicians, when confronted with a question they don’t want to answer, will say, “That’s a great question, but what’s more important is …”? Well, that suggests an approach for dealing with the inevitable question “Why did you leave your last job?” You would respond as follows:

It was a decision made at ____ level, so I wasn’t able to get all the details, but what I can tell you is …

1) What a swell guy my boss was, for example …

2) What terrific challenges/opportunities I had there, for example …

3) What an enormous learning experience that was, for example …

4) What a wonderful team of people it was, for example …

The point is, everyone can think of at least one very positive aspect of their previous employment. The use of this subject-changing device answers the question and leads the interviewer down a path of the candidate’s choosing, specifically a success story. What’s not to like? The interviewer gets an answer to the question that matters, the one at the heart of the inquiry: Does this candidate come with baggage?

Dale: Nicely done, Ed. And if any of you would like to offer your suggestions or pass along success stories, please send them via jtanddale.com, or join the discussion in the blog you’ll find there.