Dear Kate & Dale: I’ve been interviewing for a new job, and there’s one question that really bothers me: “Why are you looking?” I don’t see how that’s any of their business. I consider it a “personal matter,” and that’s what I’ve told them. – Bev

Dale: Your question reminds me of another question, one you hear when selling a used car. People always ask, “Why are you selling it?” It’s a dumb question, I suppose, because no seller is going to reply, “My mechanic told me to dump it quick, before the transmission blows.” Still, everyone asks. And you can imagine how your interest in the car would plummet if a seller seemed secretive. Same thing happens in the used-car lot of employment – buyers are going to ask. They HAVE to ask. If they hire you and then later find out that you were fired for stealing, or for attacking your boss with a baseball bat, and they didn’t ask, then who’s going to get blamed for hiring you? So they HAVE to ask, and, if you want a job, you HAVE to give them a nice, tidy, plausible explanation.

Kate: Some job-hunters have solid reasons for looking for a new job. One of my clients was a PR executive and lost the best job of his life when the company’s president died, and the replacement wanted to bring in a new team. Unless you have a story like that one, the best strategy is to describe your search as something you are being proactive about. Here are examples:

¢ “My company is reorganizing, and although I have the option of moving internally, I decided to look elsewhere.”

¢ (To use if you got any sort of severance) “I’m one of the lucky ones – I had the opportunity to take a severance package. Now I can learn and grow and move my career along. That’s why I’m glad to be meeting with you – I understand that your department is involved in new technologies.”

¢ (To use if you have had bad experiences and want to sidestep the issue) “I want to move my career in another direction. I’m looking to move to a company where my skills will be put to better use.”

Dale: And while some hiring managers will think that they “see through” one or all of those responses, that’s OK, because they will have done their job by asking the question, and you will have proven that you know how to help them move the interview from the past to the future.

Dear Kate & Dale: It’s my dream to work in the music industry when I graduate next spring. I spent this summer as an intern for a music conference, and I’m wondering what else I should be doing to follow my dream. – Karin

Kate: First, you should be congratulated on your thinking. Taking the internship is a terrific first step. At The Five O’Clock Club we call this the beginning of turning yourself from an “outsider” into an “insider.” The “outsiders” rarely get jobs.

Dale: Rightly so. The folks who work in high-profile fields are besieged with dreamers. Kate and I get a small taste of it, as authors. When people say, “It’s my dream to get a book published,” some of them are merely dreaming, while others have written articles and taken classes while having developed expertise in some field worth reading about. The latter are the people who are moving themselves inside the business, while the others are standing outside and hoping to be summoned in.

Kate: To keep moving in, Karin, you have to try to find other relevant internships or part-time jobs. Also, read as many industry periodicals as you can – it’s your business to make time for them. Further, you should join one or two professional associations. (There’s an Encyclopedia of Associations in the library.) Finally, you must learn and apply networking skills. You’re exploring a tough, competitive business; only with discipline and consistency will you be one of the ones inside, living out your dream.