“Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world.” – Robert McKee
We all have many stories to tell from our education and careers. These stories are a representation of how hard we worked, how we learned and developed new skills, and how we contributed to the greater good of the organizations or project teams we worked with.
One of the key factors to job interview success is the ability to clearly tell these important stories. The best way to structure stories you tell is using a technique called the STAR method. This is an acronym that is widely used for behavioral interview questions.
- Situation – you need to set-up the situation. Identifying and describing your situation whether that be an event or a work experience.
- Task – being clear with what you wanted to achieve and what you can achieve.
- Actions – what are the steps you took in order for you to move through that process
- Results – this is the outcome or the conclusion of the situation you are in.
One of your main goals in an interview is that people should remember you. Additionally, many studies have revealed that people remember the most from the beginning and the end of experiences.
Thinking broadly, it’s important to have a great first impression and end an interview on a positive note. Yet the same principles apply to each individual answer you give or story you tell.
This is mostly done as you explain the “Situation” and “Results” of your stories. You need to set up the appropriate context and almost the drama of the situation, then resolve it with the final results! Ideally, you’ll want to back up these explanations with measurable data you can share! That would be memorable, and get the interviewers imagining you delivering similar results in their organization!
Start right and end right to tell meaningful and impactful stories, and deliver a great interview!
See more in the video below!
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