Land Your Next Great Job: Storytelling Tips for Job Interviews

Esther recently spoke with the job search site Monster.com about how using storytelling tips for job interviews can help job seekers get hired.

Here’s a sneak peak:

Q. A 3-act story sounds like a lot to squeeze into an “elevator pitch” at a networking event. How do you decide what to leave out?

A.  A good rule of thumb is, if you need to keep it short, tell what you did and maybe why, and leave out how. For instance, let’s say you made a change that cut your employer’s costs, or you won over a tough client.  Skipping the details will probably spark your listener’s curiosity about how! If and when they ask, that’s your cue to explain a little more fully.

Q. From a storytelling perspective, how important is it to know something about a hiring manager’s background before an interview?

A. Very! Deciding what story, or stories, you want to tell from your career is one of the best reasons for researching your interviewer on Google, social media, and the company website. Try to find out enough about them to make a reasonable guess as to which of your own stories is likely to resonate the best.

Truth be told, the ending—the take-away—is most important. So if you don’t know in advance who’ll be interviewing you, ask yourself, “If this person remembers nothing else about my story, what do I hope they take away from it?” Then build on that. As with most things, you’ll get better at this with practice. Learning to craft your story so that it draws your listener in and creates a sense of connection is as much a process as a destination.

Read the rest of the article for storytelling tips for job interviews. Learn how to craft a strong beginning, middle and end of your job interview stories, how to tell short and sweet stories at networking events, and how data presentations need to be like seesaws.

(Read more.)