
Nail Your Next Optical Interview, Say This, Not That
There’s a big difference between answering interview questions and answering them well.
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There’s a big difference between answering interview questions and answering them well.

A lot of people walk into interviews hoping they will “say the right thing.”

If you are preparing for an interview in optics, whether you are an Optometrist, Dispensing Optician, Practice Manager or Optical Assistant, there is one mistake that keeps…













Every so often I come across an idea that has been around for thousands of years yet still explains modern working life remarkably well. Stoic philosophy is one of those ideas. Long before corporate leadership books and workplace coaching, the Stoics described four simple virtues that they believed formed the foundation of a good life: wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance.

One of the most common questions people ask me in recruitment is surprisingly simple: What actually gets someone promoted? Not what appears on a performance review form, not what sits in a job description, but what genuinely influences the decision when a manager chooses who moves up. After many years of working with both employers and candidates, I have learned that promotions rarely come from doing your job well alone. Competence is expected. Promotion tends to follow something slightly different: the ability to make yourself useful at a higher level before anyone officially asks you to.

Work has always involved pressure. Deadlines, responsibilities, expectations from colleagues or managers, and the simple desire to perform well can all create moments of stress during the working day. In moderation, that pressure can be healthy. It can push us to focus, to prepare properly, and to deliver our best work. But when stress begins to accumulate without being managed, it can start to affect performance, decision-making and overall wellbeing.

Spend enough time in practice and you start to notice something interesting. The optometrist who dreads pre-reg supervision but says they “love mentoring.” The dispensing optician who insists they are fine with targets yet becomes visibly frustrated when conversion is discussed. The optical assistant who dreams of progressing but never quite applies for the next step.

If you have been invited to interview for a Practice Manager role, the practice already believes you could be a good fit.

When most people think about optometry, they picture a professional sitting behind a phoropter asking a familiar question: “Which is clearer, one or two?” It is a small moment that represents an entire profession dedicated to improving how people see the world.

The psychological pattern where a person slowly disconnects from their own needs, feelings, and identity in order to please others, avoid conflict, or gain approval. Over time, people start prioritizing everyone else while neglecting themselves.


Every optical professional makes hundreds of decisions throughout their career.