Use Storytelling To Stand Out In An Interview

After months of relentless job applications and numerous rejections, you finally secure an interview with the company of your dreams. You work tirelessly, preparing to learn how to stand out in an interview. On the day of the interview, you arrive both excited and nervous; you are dressed to impress, prepared, confident, and armed with a well-crafted resume. The initial moments of the interview go smoothly; the receptionist’s warm greeting sets the tone, and the hiring manager is punctual and polite. You feel like you connected well with the hiring manager; however, a pivotal moment shifts the atmosphere.

The hiring manager asks a crucial question: “Tell me about a time when you took on a leadership role, even if it wasn’t part of your job description.” In that instant, your composed demeanor crumbles. You freeze, stumble over your words, and manage only a poorly worded, scant response. Your confidence begins to wane, and beads of sweat form on your brow.

This experience is a stark reminder of the unpredictability of interviews, the importance of handling unexpected questions with composure, and the need to stay poised under pressure. While it is true that your candidacy will be measured on the entirety of things you need to get right in the interview like asking the right questions, how prepared you are, adequate follow-up, and so forth. Most people are surprised to learn that the single most effective thing you can do to ace an interview is to make your experience come alive through storytelling.

The Most Powerful Way to Stand Out In An Interview

Telling a good story is the most powerful way to stand out from your competition. This is because our brains are wired to remember the imagery, drama, and emotion conveyed in a good story. Think of your story as a picture painted with words.

Preparing for open-ended questions doesn’t need to be daunting. If you take the time to reflect on your past experiences in your interview preparation, you will ensure that you are ready to share engaging stories about your experience. Remember that this is your chance to highlight all you have to offer the organization by bringing your professional expertise to life. You’ll be able to thoroughly showcase your professional accomplishments, which will help you to connect with the hiring manager and stand out in an interview.

Today, interviewers don’t use just one approach to ask candidates questions. Instead, they use a mixture of interview styles to formulate questions to ask. This can often leave candidates feeling confused or caught off guard when the sort of questions they are asked take a turn in another direction. For this reason, I always recommend that candidates study the top interview styles to become familiar with them all. This helps you understand how to adapt your answers.

What I hear frequently from clients is that the most common style of interviewing to stump candidates is behavioral interviewing. Behavioral interviews focus on candidates’ past experiences to assess how they’ve navigated specific situations and utilized skills relevant to the position. An example question is: “Tell me about a time when you failed at work. How did you handle this?” Clearly, the goal of behavioral style questions is to understand the behavior of the candidates to determine if they could be a fit for the company.

Interview Storytelling 101

Whether your interviewer uses behavioral questions or not, you can still follow these guidelines to use storytelling to prepare and stand out in an interview:

1. Pick two or three accomplishment stories to use to prepare

To tell a story well, practice is critical. You won’t have time to prepare and rehearse more than two to three individual examples properly. This will be enough to demonstrate both a track record and versatility. Remember, one story can be used to answer multiple questions. For example, a client used the same story from different perspectives about how he handled a complex account to answer three different questions:

• What is your greatest strength?
• Give me an example of a work achievement you are proud of.
• How did you handle a difficult situation at work?

2. Use a story-telling format

I often recommend using the format PAR, which stands for Problem, Action, and Result. This format is easy to remember and implement, and every good story contains these three elements:

• The Problem is the obstacle you have to overcome. The company interviewing you is looking to hire you to solve problems, so you want to demonstrate your problem-solving ability.
• The Action is how your brain works when addressing problems. Sharing this element allows the interviewer to envision what it is like to work with you.
• The Result demonstrates your value to an organization.

3. Drama Sells

Think about memorable stories you’ve heard. If you were asked why they were memorable, you might say they were engaging, they seemed important, or they fascinated you. This is precisely how you want interviewers to describe your stories. Drama will fit nicely into the “Problem” and the “Result” portions of your story. Be sure to remember to highlight what the achievement meant to the company and how you were recognized for this achievement.
It also helps to quantify accomplishments using a standard formula like this:
Increased (problem) by (percent)% by (solution), resulting in a (percent)% increase in sales.
Increased website speed by 25% by optimizing code and page size, resulting in a 50% increase in sales.
Then, add personal flair with drama and engaging details to make a story.

4. Answer basic questions with a story

Take a typical interview question- “What’s your greatest strength?” You might answer, “My greatest strength is my ability to build relationships.” Even though you’ve answered the question, your answer isn’t memorable. You’re not differentiating yourself from your competitors.

Instead, answer like this: “My greatest strength to build relationships. Would you like me to share an example?”

Then, share the Problem:

 When I began my last role running the XYZ Project, I could see right away that the team was struggling on many levels. Morale was down, Sales were trending down, engagement was down, the company was talking about layoffs, and the best workers were leaving because they felt they were set up to fail. This was a big problem for the company, and I was pressured to solve it quickly. 

Add in the Action

I knew I needed to understand what was going on. Was it the competition, the market, the quality of the team, or something else? Turns out that the problem was they didn’t have the training or support from management to do their jobs successfully. They also didn’t have the appropriate infrastructure to analyze their sales data to optimize their efforts.

Once I had this insight, I started building bridges on the team level to cement relationships and build morale. I also succeeded in pushing a strategy of incentivizing management to partner with us, by giving them a share of the sales; I got the buy-in from top executives for this strategy. Additionally, I partnered with vendors and IT to build a user-friendly dashboard to analyze sales data and optimize efforts across the board.

And finally, the Result

 Within about six months, the downward sales trend started to reverse itself, and within a year we were on to record better revenue. Turnover of top talent fell to zero from around 50%, and we landed our two biggest clients. I was formally recognized for my work by the company president.

I share this story because I think this type of internal relationship-building could be potentially be useful for your situation…”

Notice how at the end of the story you turned it back to them. This will help to ensure that the story was relevant to them (“How can you help me?” is their number one question). When you tell your story, be prepared for lots of follow-up questions. Good interviewers will want to know what you enjoyed or did best, what motivated you, and so forth.

5. Avoid these two common pitfalls

• Keep your stories to about two minutes in length to avoid the most common issues like including too much, or too little detail, or too high level.
• Don’t overuse “we”. “We” is good if used occasionally to show you’re collaborative. Ultimately, the interviewer wants to understand what you did, so focus on your contribution.

Professional Storytelling Wins Influence

Harnessing the power of storytelling during an interview is akin to crafting a well-structured narrative that unfolds the chapters of your professional journey. It’s not merely a recounting of your experiences and qualifications but an opportunity to transport your interviewers into the vivid landscapes of your career. With the right story, you can articulate your skills, values, and personality in an engaging and memorable manner. Rather than listing dry facts and figures, you’re breathing life into your resume, making it relatable and relevant to the company’s values and culture.

Moreover, storytelling allows you to illustrate your problem-solving abilities and adaptability in real-world scenarios. By narrating past challenges and the strategies you employed to overcome them, you show that you’re not just a collection of skills but a dynamic problem solver. This authenticity helps you build a genuine connection with your interviewers, who, in turn, can envision your potential as a valuable contributor to the organization. Whether demonstrating your leadership qualities, your ability to work under pressure, or your talent for collaboration, storytelling provides a powerful medium to communicate your suitability for the role.

In conclusion, leveraging storytelling during an interview is not just a powerful tool; it’s an art that can make a lasting impression and set you apart from other candidates. Your experiences, skills, and qualifications may align with the job requirements. Still, it’s through storytelling that you breathe life into your professional journey, demonstrating your ability to connect, engage, and create memorable moments in the minds of your interviewers. By painting vivid pictures, evoking emotions, and delivering impactful narratives, you showcase your suitability for the role and leave a lasting imprint of your passion, personality, and potential. So, the next time you’re in the hot seat, remember that storytelling isn’t just about words; it’s about making an unforgettable statement.