Kit Prendergast, PCC
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Tag Archives: communication
The Power of Story Telling in Interviews
Do you get a little nervous and tongue-tied when asked to describe your talents, skills and strengths in a telephone or face-to-face interview? That’s normal. It’s not that you don’t have anything to say – actually you have lots to say – but the challenge is saying something concise and meaningful in a way that captures the interviewer’s interest and conveys the value you can bring the organization.
So try this new, old approach . . . story telling. Everyone loves a good story. And people remember a good story because it creates a visual image for them. We come alive while both telling stories and listening to them. Stories are powerful, but they take planning to avoid the pitfall of a tale that goes on and on.
Selecting Strengths for a Story
Here’s how to get started in deciding what is most important to communicate in an upcoming interview. First, think of a strength that you want to highlight for the interviewer(s). This strength should speak to one of these five P.E.A.K.S areas:
- Your Personal Characteristics (ability to work in a team, leadership, handle conflict, attitude etc.)
- Your professional Experience in this industry or in the responsibilities being requested
- Your Accomplishments which you have been recognized for by your colleagues
- Your Knowledge (formal education and on-going professional development)
- Your range of Skills appropriate to this job opening.
Use the C.A.R. to Create Your Story
Once you have selected the strength that you want to showcase take a minute to rough out one short paragraph that tells the story. And here’s the trick . . . use the C.A.R. format. This works beautifully to keep your story short and to the point.
- C = Challenge (what was the challenge you faced ie. new project, a conflict etc)
- A = Action (what was the action you took – focus on your actions)
- R = Results (what were the concrete results that happened as a result of your actions)
And then the icing on the cake is tieing in the results with the value you could bring this company if hired. Play with this . . . do one story completely and then a couple more. Shoot for about 8 – 10 short stories. Create a cheat sheet for yourself with the C.A.R. format. For each story hit each of the three points briefly adding in the final touch of the value you would bring.
Practice each story out loud to your dog but don’t overdo it. You want your natural voice, enthusiasm and energy to come through as you’re telling the story. After all, you’re talking about you at your best. Good luck out there, and if you see me along the way tell me your best story. I’d love to hear it!
Preparing for Behavioral Based Interviews
What is behavioral interviewing? This relatively new interviewing strategy is based on the premise that relevant past behavior in a work setting can be a very good predictor of future performance in a similar work environment.
It makes perfect sense . . . and for experienced professionals this kind of interviewing allows them to shine by highlighting their experience, accomplishments and expertise through short, powerful stories.
What Does This Mean for Me?
It means that you can relax a bit. Behavioral based interviews tend to have more of a conversational feel to them. You’ll see that they flow naturally and logically as the interviewer looks for your concrete examples of what you have done in the past and how that relates to what you could do for them in the future.
A close cousin of these “past-focused” questions are “future-focused” questions which are looking for your ability to handle a new situation. These are often called competency-based questions because they are looking to future behavior specifically. You will probably be asked both kinds of questions throughout the interview.
First Step in Preparing for Behavioral-Based Questions
The hiring manager will be asking targeted questions tied directly to the desired knowledge and skills competencies usually detailed in the job description. So that’s where you start . . . take the job description and yellow highlight the key compentencies they are asking for.
You will usually see they are looking for this five compentencies:
- specific knowledge
- demonstrated skills
- interpersonal skills
- proven experience and
- accomplishments in the chosen area
In my next blog, I’ll teach you how to tell a powerful story using C.A.R to illustrate each of these areas. It’s an easy way to remember and tell an interviewer your career strengths. You will be surprised how easy it is!
Three Steps to Start to Write a Cover Letter
It’s that first impression that can make or break a final job offer. Writing a powerful cover letter is an art especially in this rapidly changing job market. Your cover letter needs to open the door for you to get that all important interview. It introduces you and directly ties in your qualifications to what the potential employer is looking for – in other words – the awesome value you bring.
But slow down. Don’t start writing yet. These three steps come first – then the writing is easy. First, identify your key selling points and then condense each into a strong summary sentence. Second, do market research on your targeted potential employer – what are their needs and problems. Third, think about how you can be their solution to these issues – this is the value you bring to them.
Now you can do a draft cover letter. Keep it simple by remembering that your cover letter just needs to do these five things:
- Introduce Yourself
- Capture the Reader’s Interest in You
- Highlight & Link Your Qualifications to the Needs of the Reader
- Identify the Clear Value You Will Bring Upon Hire
- Motivate the Reader to Call You!
Cover Letter Magic
Cover Letter Magic, Third Edition, by Wendy Enelow & Louise Kursmark, 2007.
This is my “go-to” book for writing solid cover letters that get read. It is an excellent resource filled with powerful strategies, tips, and advice from two well-known resume masters to make writing your cover letters as easy as possible.
The examples of cover letters are particularly helpful as are the appendixes (keywords, action verbs, websites etc) at the end of the book. There is even an extensive list of professional resume writers with their contact information included. This book is part of a series of career books, Job Search Magic; Resume Magic and Cover Letter Magic edited by Susan Whitcomb, President, Career Coach Academy.
Acing a Telephone Interview
In my blog postings over the last two weeks, I’ve been sharing ideas and tips on how to best apply, interview and secure a competitive job offer. My most recent inspiration is coming from daily phone calls from my college age daughter, Barbara, who is pursuing PR internships in New York City for this upcoming summer.
Barbara doesn’t allow any “grass to grow” under her feet. She is beautifully organized; goal oriented and very persistent. Thank goodness I’m an experienced career professional but even I have a hard time keeping up with her especially trying to help edit cover letters at 11:00pm! But you can’t argue with success when she’s getting positive responses back within just days.
So here we go . . . now I’m helping her prep for a telephone interview scheduled for tomorrow morning. My “go-to” reference on preparing for all kinds of interviews is Job Search Magic, Susan Whitcomb, 2006. It’s simply the best resource on how to psychologically, physically and mentally prepare for a telephone or personal interview.
Here’s my favorite list taken in part from Whitcomb’s “Dozen Must-Do’s in Telephone Interviews”. I’ll be passing them on to Barbara when she calls me late, late tonight. These are great tips for all of us to remember.
- Set up a very quiet place without interruptions (no dogs barking!)
- Convey warmth, friendliness and professionalism in your opening.
- Ensure you have a good phone connection (use a head set if possible).
- Listen closely – try closing your eyes to really concentrate.
- Use SMART stories to give concise answers.
- Be aware of your voice especially if it is too soft.
- Shorten up your responses – don’t go on & on.
- Expect the unexpected (a role play, case example etc.).
- Take notes but don’t let writing things down distract you.
- Always ask for the job if you really want it!
The best part for me is being able to coach Barbara in my area of expertise to be the very best she can be. My business tag line has always been “Powerful Partnerships for Powerful Results”!