Interview Storytelling How to Tell a Story During Your Interview

bewerbungsgesprch Storytelling How to Tell a Story During Your InterviewI remember the daffodils were beautiful that summer. I was young then, just starting out, full of optimism and joie de vivreWhat? My management skills? Dont worry, Im getting to that part eventually. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) One of the best things about the in-person (or phone) job interview is that it gives you a chance to take your sterile-looking, rigidly bulleted resume and create a mora rounded narrative of yourself and your career. But its an area that takes a bit of skill and finesse. You dont want to end up way out in Tangentville, but you also dont want to seem like you cant back up the information on your resume.Find Your NarrativeBefore the interview, its important to limber up by coming up with the narrative you want to express during the interview. Is it that youre a tough leader who always wants to improve? Are you a dicke bretter bohren mssen so lver who thrives on challenges? Once you work out what you want to achieve with your interview (and what works well with the job description), you can shape your stories and anecdotes to bolster that narrative.Storytelling isnt just a way to package yourself, its also a way to pull in the interviewer and make them care more about the person and resume sitting in front of them. via DynamicYieldWhat to Talk AboutAt The Muse, they recommend having six types of stories in your pocket for any interviewSolving ProblemsProblem solving is a very highly regarded skill for hiring managers. They need to know that youll step in and be able to handle things on your own.Talk about You resolved a conflict between two coworkers, or between you and someone else. You came up with a solution to a crisis at the belastung minute. You identified an area of cost savings that helped save a budget crisis.DONT talk about The time you brokered a peace deal between your two fighting frat brothers, or between y our mom and Aunt Susan at Thanksgiving. Unless you managed a peace deal in the Middle East in your spare time, stick to work-related stories.Overcoming ChallengesEveryone loves the underdog, right? And sure, its good to have examples of when things went well, but many interviewers want to know about how you do when things arent going so well. In this story, its important to identify the challenge, but more important to show how you conquered it successfully.Talk about You had a difficult relationship with your boss, but came to an understanding. You found a new and more efficient process for doing something that used to take hours. You had a crazy deadline for a projectand met itDONT talk about How you started waking up on time after you got in trouble for constantly coming in late.Bouncing Back from MistakesYoure notlage perfect. Spoiler alertthe interviewer knows that. The trick here is turning mistakes to your advantage. Its important to be selective here you want to spielblttche n something that wasnt too egregious, and also something that shows real professional growth. Be sure to focus on the outcome (how youve pivoted and this mistake made you stronger) over the mistake itself.For this one, you not only have to be a storyteller, but also a spinmaster. Its important to show that youre a better and stronger employee for the experience, which of course wouldnt be repeated in your new job.Talk about A mistake you made early in your career that made you better at your job. A knowledge gap that you worked hard to address.DONT talk about The time you almost got fired for negligence. A major mistake you made for which you never got caught. The time you hit reply-all to make a snarky comment about someone on the email chain, even though you meant to forward it to your friend Jake only. Or the confidential company information that somehow got made public via your Twitter account.Making Good DecisionsThis is not the time for an elaborate story that ends with your c olleagues carrying you out of the conference room on their shoulders, chanting your name. Look for stories that show how you took charge of a situation, or managed others to a successful outcome.Talk about The team you led to a successful year of sales. The event you organized (and went well). The project you spearheaded.DONT talk about Successful initiatives where you werent actually the person in charge. Its a dangerous game, taking credit for things. You never know who knows whom, and what can be factchecked as soon as you leave the interview.Working Well with OthersYou dont have to be the shining leader here, its more about how you interact. This one is pretty flexibleany kind of project youve done in conjunction with other people will do. Colleagues, clients, volunteers, all are potential teamwork stories.Talk about The event you organized in conjunction with others. The high-profile project that involved several different departments.DONT talk about Times you didnt get along w ith others, or had conflicts.Being, You Know, a Real PersonSometimes you get a bit of a wildcard, an interviewer saying, So tell me about yourself. Rather than launch into a chronological timeline of your education and experience, pick a story or two that expresses your priorities and values. It doesnt have to be strictly related to work, but if you can use it to shore up one of the big skills (leadership, problem solving, commitment, etc.), all the better.Talk about Youre training for a marathon. You speak three languages and are working on a fourth. On weekends, you volunteer at a farm for rescued mongooses.DONT talk about Inappropriate personal stories. Health issues. Political activities.How to Frame Your StoriesGood interview stories do two things1. They tell the interviewer something about you that goes beyond your resume bullet points.2. They engage the interviewer.Its the same as any story you tell, whether youre hanging out at a caf with friends or in a job interview you wa nt to tell it in the best, most entertaining way. This does not mean you need to adopt a Catskills comedian persona (take my bossplease), but its worth the effort to put a little sparkle on your stories, even if theyre just meant to flesh out the bullet points on your resume.Make the listener care about what youre saying.Try to tie things back to the job at hand. If youre talking about leadership skills, talk about how your past leadership makes you a great fit for this job managing three employees. Show the value of these stories to the company that might hire you.Stick to the important points.These stories should be short (maybe only a few sentences). You want to make sure you zero in on the most important details who, what, when, where, and how it applies to this new job.Be upbeat.People respond to tone, and if you try to keep the story light and professional, it helps maintain that tone for the overall interview.Make sure theres a clear ending.You dont want to trail off, or wrap up with a weak, Soyeah. End on a strong notenzeichen about your goals or what you hope to achieve in this new job.Keep it as short as possible.Here, the sweet spot is somewhere between one-or-two word answers and a ten-minute monologue. Try out some standard answers to interview questions as part of your pre-interview prep. Time yourselfif you feel like youve been talking for a while without coming up for air, you probably have. If you find that your story is going more than a minute or two, start thinking of spots where you can cut it down.What Not to DoWhen thinking about the stories you want to tell in an interview, the things not to do are just as important as the story itself.Dont use a timeline.This happened, and then this happened, and then this other thing happened. Im already asleep, can you repeat that last event? Instead, try a pattern of this happened, and this was the result. What I learned from this wasDont use jargon.Try to keep terms as universal as possible. If you re talking to someone whom you know is familiar with them, or theyre culturally appropriate to your industry, its okay to use specific words, but dont take for granted that everyone will know what a GMU report is if they havent mentioned it before.Dont make stuff up.The truth is always the best in a job interview scenario. Even if it would make for a better story if you accepted the Nobel Peace Prize at the end, its not worth the embarrassment of getting caught in a fib.Dont leave the professional zone.Even if youre asked to talk about hobbies or personal interests, dont use that as an excuse to list all of your pet topics. Pick one or two that you can talk about, and for goodnesss sake, make sure theyre work appropriate. (Any story where your friend had to bail you outnot great.)Moral of the StoryAt the end of the interview, you want to feel like youve achieved a good balance between the you-on-paper (your resume) and your presentation. Using stories and anecdotes to show (not tell ) how those bullet points and skill actually shape your career is a great skill to have, and just takes a little practice.