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  It's all in the spin. Don't lead with the fact that you just lost your job, that there are no jobs left in your industry and that hiring freezes have forced you to change direction. Don't say that you'll basically take anything with health and retirement benefits. (Asked why she wanted to be an editor at our non-profit publishing company, one candidate naively answered, "I'm finishing writing a novel and I need health insurance for me and my husband." Game over.) Re-frame: say that you've always been interested in the non-profit sector and talk about what appeals to you about this organization specifically. Explain matter-of-factly that, like X others at your company, you were laid off, providing the opportunity to shift gears and pursue things you've always wanted to do; offer a "blessing in disguise" narrative. Cite any volunteer and public sector experience you've had, even if it was long ago, in which case say that this early experience has stuck with you and that since then, you've looked for a similar opportunity and that this is it. Study the job description and map the skills you have from your previous job onto their requirements, pointing out exactly how your skills are transferable; offer concrete examples to show you have thought carefully about making this transition. Explain that while your corporate salary did allow a different lifestyle, you have assessed your financial needs and have adjusted your expectations and budgeted accordingly. (Make sure you have investigated the salary range and that you truly can live within it.)
  
  The most important thing is to appear enthusiastic, committed and optimistic. You want the organization to understand that you have approached them out of passion and conviction, not desperation, and after enough research to determine that this is a place you
  

  by Ellen Reeves, College Students See more answers by Ellen »