This is a very easy question to answer. I offer a different framework that I usually discuss that’s pretty simple.
I must admit I also forgot they had one detail in the video– where possible, have you a story be relevant to the job as you understand it.
Tell me about a time you went above and beyond. I'm Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. I'm a career and leadership coach, a former recruiter who now coaches people to be more effective in a job search, hiring more effectively, managing and leading, and resolving workplace related issues. It's a great question. And I'll just start off by saying, do you know what they're asking for? And the answer is they want to hear a story. Anytime they start off with "Tell me about a time when you," and it doesn't end in a question, and just ends in a period, that's storytime. And in doing storytime , follow a format. Now normally, I offer two other frameworks. But in a question like this, like above and beyond, I think in terms of something simple problem, action, result. PAR, like par for the course. And think of it from the standpoint of, they don't want to hear about how you did a great job at the PTA, or something with your son or daughter's softball league. They want to hear a professional question, uh, professional story. So think of a problem that you stepped into, what you did, and the result that you got-- money saved, money earned, percentage improvement. Those are the three things you have to hit it on. And in doing so, I want to try and make you laugh here. If you think of movie plots, you're the hero of the story. Like if this were a cowboy movie, you know, you're the person riding in on the white horse to save the townspeople and save the day. And thus, you have to be the hero of the story. And you have to answer it in a minute to a minute 15. And if it's a longer story, I want you to think in terms of, once you get to about that mark of a minute to a minute 15 and you feel like now that you've given the overview, you can follow up by saying, "if you like, I can go into more detail for you. And then you can obviously do the deep dive. Remember, we live in ADHD culture. No one has attention span beyond the minute to a minute 15. Like, right now, you're thinking of clicking away, right. But hang in there just a few more seconds. And I've made my point, right? So think in terms of delivering your message, the story, in a minute to minute 15, then asking for permission to go further. "If you'd like, I could do a deep dive on this and go into more detail." If they wish, they can respond "Sure," or "No, that that was enough." And you've answered the question perfectly. I hope you found this helpful. I'm Jeff Altman. My website is TheBigGameHunter.us; go there and go exploring. There's a lot there to help you. I also have a great course on interviewing, called The Ultimate Job Interview Framework. It's available on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle book, or available as a video course at TheBigGameHunter.us/interviews. The video course is a little more expensive, like 30 some odd dollars, but it really teaches you how to interview well. And connect with me on Linkedin at linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter. Have a terrific day and most importantly, be great! Take care
