Are you looking to stand out during your next job interview? Don’t just give answers – tell stories! Part Two Job Search Interview Tips
Past behavior is an indicator of future performance. By telling stories and sharing examples of times that you were put in challenging and interesting situations, you demonstrate your ability to tackle the situation and to produce results in the eyes of the interviewer.
Last week, we spoke about the impact that a story can have on the reader and how you can also use this skill during an interview to increase your chance of landing that ideal job. We have taken a look at how you can frame your story by providing context which can be viewed as similar to setting the scene of a novel or a movie.
Now, we will be taking a look at Part Two of Job Search Interview Tips – the action and result portion to your story.
The actions and results form the substance of your story, and are critical because they are a likely indicator of future performance.
- Action: Once you have given your story a bit of context, next you should go into detail about what you did to solve the problem. This should be the bulk of your story and should include your skills and qualifications. Did you use your time management skills and prioritize your tasks to meet deadlines? Did you use your leadership skills to motivate and direct others? Did you learn a new skill to achieve your results? A key thing to remember is that while you can attribute success to working as a team, the interviewer is more interested in learning about your personal contributions and what you can bring to the table. Sell your skills
- Result: What was the impact of your actions? Was there a positive outcome? Did you fail to improve a situation, but learned from the situation instead? Ideally, a result should be one that can be measured. For example, did you increase the revenues of the company? Did you implement a program in the office that amounted to less waste and more cost savings for your department? Make sure to use key action verbs such as achieved, accomplished, analyzed, delegated, developed, improved, increased, strengthened or other key words that can provide the interviewer a sense of the measureable results. Be sure to mention if there is anything that you would do differently the next time, if you were confronted with a similar situation. Another key pointer is to choose some negative experiences that you were able to turn around into positive outcomes. Review your resume and think about the most significant measureable results and proud moments from previous jobs.
Follow these interview tips to help you structure your story in your next interview. You can craft yourself into the hero or heroine of your story. Good Luck!
Interested in reading last weeks Blog – Job Search Tips – Tell Your Story! Part One?
