Interview Storytelling
Storytelling is a crucial part of demonstrating your strengths and accomplishments when answering questions in a job interview. Stories engage other people in a way that data by itself cannot.
A research study by Chip Heath at Stanford University suggests that statistics alone have a retention rate of 5-10%, but when you add in a story, the retention rate is 65-70%.
All kinds of other research, and probably lots of real-life experience you've had, further backs up the idea that it's not just what you say but how you say it.
Take the mythological figure Hercules for example; We don't remember Hercules because he was strong per se, we remember him because of the legendary story of his labors which demonstrate his physical strength. Imagine he went into a job interview and answered questions the way many of us do...
Hiring Manager: Tell me about a time you used your physical strength to solve a problem, Hercules."
Hercules: "Oh, yeah, I'm really strong. I can pick up heavy things, like for example, the world. I've got good stamina, I use my muscles every day."
Or, he could answer this way--
Hercules: I'm really glad you asked me about my strength. I once killed a lion with my bare hands.
During my 12-year service to King Eurystheus, I was tasked with killing the Nemean Lion. I was on a tight 30-day timeline with hundreds of human lives at stake.
My first approach was to handcraft some arrows, but I soon learned the lion had impenetrable skin!
Eventually, I outsmarted the lion by blocking one of two entrances to his cave. I was then able to wrestle him down with my bare hands. I don't rely on my physical strength alone, but also my cunning and resourcefulness. Later, I was also able to tailor the lion's skin into my own armor by using one of its claws to cut its indestructible hide. "
Which answer is more compelling?
You don't have to have killed a lion with impenetrable skin to tell a good story though. You just need to have all the basic elements of a story:
Characters (WHO)- You would obviously be the main character. Try to think about all the other people in the story too though -- stakeholders, customers, colleagues. Who benefited or was affected by your actions?
Setting (WHERE, WHEN) - Where did everything take place? That might matter to the story. Were you out in the field? Did you have to make several late-night conference calls with people across multiple regions and time zones?
Plot (HOW)- OK, this is what actually happened. This is the part where you talk about the actions you took to solve the problem.
Conflict (WHY) - You need to include the context of why your action even matters. What problem did you solve? A story in which you did everything right because it was SO easy for you is boring. Think of why you did what you did and how it matters to the company.
Resolution (WHAT)- This is where you talk about the results of your actions. Focus again on business results. Awards and recognitions are great to mention but always include the business impacts that earned you the praise.
A good way of writing out your accomplishment stories is to fill out a STAR story template. STAR is an acronym for Situation, Task, Action, Result. You can easily create a document to fill out in Excel with a column for each. Then, do some brainstorming to come up with your top accomplishments you want to talk about in an interview.
You can map your stories to the qualifications listed in the job posting. Like Hercules, most of your stories will demonstrate multiple strengths. If Hercules had been asked a question about resourcefulness for example, he could have told the same story in a slightly different way to emphasize resourcefulness instead of physical strength.
It's a great idea to write from 7 to 10 stories to prepare for a job interview. You can use the template provided in the Launchpad Job Search Tool to write them out.
Don't forget to practice too. You'll need to be confident, clear, crisp, and concise for your story to resonate with the audience. It's not enough to kill the lion, you have to tell the story in a way that engages the listener and makes them care.
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