What's Your Story? Shine Telling Them in Interviews

Where I lived in Reading, England

During my junior year, I was the President of a 30-member study abroad program in Reading, England. In this role, I had to plan and coordinate activities for our group; wear the hat of a semi-Resident Advisor enforcing rules for the school-owned houses where we lived; and serve as the liaison between our group and the faculty director of our program. One event I had to lead was our Thanksgiving Dinner where those of us who ordered class rings received them at this celebratory meal. And, then the story would continue….

The experience above is the start of an example I could use if I had been asked “Tell me about a time you have been a leader,” when I was interviewing for my first full-time position. As you prepare for interviews for internships or full-time positions, you need to work on your craft at telling stories. Why? Only you can tell YOUR stories. Your stories are what set you apart from everyone else, and that is what you want to do in an interview, demonstrate to an employer how you uniquely fit what she or he is seeking.

Prove it!

Many interviews only last for 30 minutes, and sometimes even less time than a half an hour. With the stories that you tell, you are giving the interviewer a chance to get to know you better in a short period of time. The specific examples that you give are what will stick in an employer’s mind after talking to 15 or more candidates. “Oh yeah, she was the one who was skilled at getting a group of 30 women to agree on what to have for a British Thanksgiving Dinner,” is what the recruiter will recall rather than “Oh yeah, Claire, she’s the one who is a great leader.”

Your stories are also important because a recruiter has to sell everyone else involved in the hiring process on why you are THE one. The recruiter has to first prove it to bring you on site for an interview and then prove it again to all who have a voice in the final hiring decision. The specific examples that you share give all who interview you "ammunition" for that critical decision time.

Behavioral Interviews: Be a STAR

A popular interviewing method employers use is behavioral based interviewing where an employer spends time analyzing a position, determining key competencies needed for that role. The employer asks questions that get at these specific competencies during the interview. Sample behavioral questions can be found here.

You can use the STAR formula to respond to these behavioral types of interview questions:

S=Situation: Avoid talking in generalities. Get specific. For example, if you are asked about a time you had to work in a group and what your role was within the group, don’t just say, “I have to do group projects all the time. I can take the lead in a group, or follow someone else’s lead.” Instead, a sample reply would be, “In my promotional strategies class, we had to create a promotional campaign for a local daycare center. My role in the five-member team was to oversee the marketing research and report on our findings during our final presentation.”

T=Task: what was the task or challenge you faced? To follow with the above example, “I had to research the key benefits of the daycare center that current users identified.”

A=Action: what were the actions that you took? “We surveyed over 100 users of the center with an online tool, achieving a 50% response rate.”

R=Result: How did the situation turn out? What was the outcome? “As a result of my marketing research, we were able to identify 3 key benefits parents/guardians saw in the center, and we focused our campaign on those benefits. Our group received an A on the project and the daycare center has implemented several of our recommendations.”

Career Services provides a STAR worksheet to help you prepare stories like this for your interviews. You can find the worksheet on page 81 in our Career Planning Guide. Pick up a hard copy of the Guide in Career Services or access it here online.

Last year in a mock interview, a student asked me if he could make up a story to tell in an interview. Honesty is a must for the entire job search process including interviews; actually, telling the truth is a must for life. If you can’t come up with a relevant example, try to think of an example that is somewhat similar. “Although I don’t have a lot of experience programming in XX, I am a quick learner. I spent my spare time last semester teaching myself programming in YY language and was able to help my club improve our website because I knew this programming language.” Added to being honest, you want to describe examples that have a positive result, because during an interview, you need to remain as positive as possible about everything that you say.

Become a stellar storyteller for your next interview. Work on your stories now. And, practice telling your stories in a mock interview. You are the best person to tell your stories. Craft them like the expert you are. It's time to SHINE!