You did it. You are responsible.
You saved the day.
Stop telling boring, factual, lifeless interview stories. Tell stories that have conflict and struggle, stories where you are the hero that turned around a snarky dragon like client or scaled a mountain of bureaucratic paperwork and created streamlined systems that made life easy – and more productive.
You get the idea. Stories of your accomplishments can and should be lively, interesting, memorable and, well, personal.
So, as you prepare for you next interview (or cover letter), think about what makes for a good story, and think also about what you remember when you hear a story.
- Good stories are about overcoming challenges. Beating the odds.
- Good stories are about good and evil. How might made right.
- Good stories have images and color, they spark the imagination, they get us thinking about what’s possible maybe even magical, they get us traveling to exotic lands.
- Good stories make us smile, laugh, cry and sigh. They draw out feelings.
- Good stories help us know and feel someone. We know the narrator. We empathize with the main character.
- Good stories can take us out of our comfort zone while staying comfortable.
- Good stories often have lessons or morals or cautionary messages. “I’ll remember to wear khakis when I go on safari. I don’t want a lion to notice me and think I’m a tasty bit of prey.”
- Good stories surprise us. There’s a twist, something unexpected happens.
Now let’s turn to your interview story and think about how you can draw on the elements of a good story. Remember – you are the hero, you know the characters and you had the winning results/or learned your lesson.
When I was a lobbyist, I was attached to the idea that I was a do-good Robin Hood sort of character. Every time I went to a meeting with congressional staff, I imagined that I was wearing a red cape dashing in to ensure that poor, rural communities had safe drinking water. I was carrying the torch as it were. I was a champion of the poor. I’m sure that spirit came through in my lobbying visits. That attitude certainly kept me fueled as I met with staffer upon staffer (which means I had genuine enthusiasm- something that can’t be faked).
My dogged efforts on behalf of the poor did indeed have success: I successfully won a line item in the federal budget for EPA assistance to poor rural communities. I also got in the door and kept a positive attitude despite the gatekeepers tasked with keeping out poor folk like us.
Bottom line talking points about this story:
What it said about me (soft skills)
- I’m a person with a deep commitment to helping the poor (values)
- I was determined to succeed (commitment)
- I wasn’t afraid to try and try again (persistence)
What it said about me (hard skills)
I knew how to lobby – meaning figure out who to meet with, how to get in the door, speak the language of congressional staff and read the policy and appropriations bills sufficiently to see opportunities for a match to meet the needs of the constituents I represented.
My soft skills and my ability to lobby yielded tangible, measurable results (that line item).
Now you think about one story from your work history. It could be a story about how you got in the door or how you won over a curmudgeon, it could be a story of a terrible mistake you made and how you handled it with humor and grace. You’ve surely got stories to tell.
When you work on the story, tune into what you know about your personality and your values. Our ethic and character that contributes our acts of heroism even if it’s our muscle and might that saves the day.
Lastly, remember that taking on the posture of a storyteller will change the way you reply during an interview. So, look around at your audience and think, how can I draw them in, how can I make an emotional connection? Then, lay out the scene and show them how you saved the day with the winning strategy.
Stories are personal and so are interviews. Communicate to connect, and enjoy.