Stories to make you sparkle at your next job interview
Here's how to tell stories to make you sparkle at your next job interview.
Do you have an interview coming up? Are your communication skills up to scratch? Got your stories ready and good to go? Things like…
“Can you tell me about a time …?”
“How do you approach a situation when…?”
“Describe to me what you’ve done for…”
Ring any bells?
Figuring out what, when and how to say something can be tricky.
Here’s a few tips to help you out.
First, look closely at the job description.
What skills does the job require?
Highlight the main skills.
Now, write those skills down on paper.
Ideally, no more than 3 skills per page.
Take each page and under each of the skills create a mind map of things you’ve done that showcase these skills.
Note, it doesn’t have to be skills used in a job.
It could be in a volunteer position.
It could be something you do in your free time as part of a club or team.
It might even be a hobby you do on your own.
Once you’ve got a few titles of stories, take them one at a time and start to describe your story using the STARR model.
What’s the STARR model?
This is the STARR model…
The S is about describing the situation.
The T is to share what tasks you did.
The A explains what actions you took.
The R describes the results you achieved.
And finally - this is an important bit a lot of folk forget - the second R is for you to show your reflections.
This reflect section is important and gives you extra kudos in an interview.
Why?
Because it shows you’ve self awareness, a growth mindset, and, importantly, humility.
And who doesn’t want to work with someone with these three qualities?
So before you wrap up your interview stories think about:
What did you learn?
What would you do differently?
How would you do it next time?
If you’re job hunting or in the middle of the interview pipeline, try out these techniques. You’ll be able to share the skills you have in story format and it will let you shine.
Let me know how you get on.