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Almost seven years ago, my wife and I were made redundant on the same day, from the same company. It was the day before the Christmas holidays and two days before we went on our honeymoon to Whistler, Canada. We were in our second year in Australia and our intention was to stay there and start our family.

Then the bomb dropped.

As soon as the news was delivered we went out to eat lunch together and have the 'what will we do' conversation.

It was a difficult morning as our bosses had talked to everyone in the company, business wasn't going so well and they needed to cut costs, it was unfortunate as I really liked our two leaders and had developed a strong bond with them, professionally and personally.

Being laid off is not easy emotionally, it is draining, however I understood this was the right move for the company and the catalyst for change my wife and I needed. Being laid off also causes a momentary dent to the ego. I say 'momentary' because that is all it should last, it needs to be fleeting before you get back to business.

I never doubted my ability to find a great job, beyond my experience and education, I have the right attitude, unrelenting work ethic and my standard of interviewing is very high. 

"Adversity is an opportunity for self-discovery."

John C. Maxwell

One week later, sitting outside the famous 'Dubh Linn' pub at the foot of Whistler mountain, my wife and I decided to move to Canada. Despite that decision, I thought it best to see what was available globally. In Q1 of 2014 I sent out 183 job applications to every corner of the world, I still have the tracking spreadsheet that I look at from time to time.

That led to a fantastic streak of interviews for jobs in Australia, Japan, Canada, Europe and the US. Our fate was sealed once we received our two year working visas to Canada.

Two and a half years after packing my bags to move to Canada, I set off once again, this time without a job, I was confident of meeting brilliant people and finding a great job. This time my wife wrapped up our affairs in Australia, she was also three months pregnant...

I sat next to this lovely lady on the plane to Vancouver, she was great, as we talked she told me she was getting over a cancer scare and was off to tour Canada and the U.S. What had i to be concerned about?

I don't shy away from telling Interviewers a condensed version of this story. Why? It is true, authentic, it shows a degree of vulnerability, that life is full of mini challenges that are meant to be overcome. Interview answers, stories are not meant to be perfect bite size value propositions, they should show that you have highs and lows like anyone else.