Using Stories to Answer Interview Questions | JobSearchTV.com
Stories aren’t just for bedtime.
In this video, Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter explains the value of stories when you interview and suggest a format for your stories to create the best impression with an interviewer.
When people put their children to sleep, they often tell stories. The stories aren’t designed to engage the child and, of course, to relax them.
As adults, we forget the power of stories and there is no place for powerful to tell stories that a job interview.
There is a format to effective interview stories and you need to be prepared with a number of stories for every interview you take.
The format goes by the acronym of SOAR.
You start off with the situation you have been involved with. What did you step into? Was the problem you were asked to address?
The obstacle you had to contend with? The obstacle you had to overcome to contend with those situations.
What actions did you take in order to solve that problem? The results that you achieved by doing all of this is the R in SOAR.
Results need to be quantified; you can’t just say everyone lives happily ever after. You can joke about that in the interview (you don’t start off with, “once upon a time”),
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You do talk about the situation you were facing, obstacles you faced, actions that you took and results that you got quantified in money saved or money earned for your company wherever possible.
There’s no better way to stand out from the competition by quantifying using metrics because your competition often isn’t using them. When an employer is trying to evaluate what you did, as a recent guest of mine on Job Search Radio said, we’re looking for measurements of results. Whether it’s the size and scope of the project you worked on the results of what you did, numbers create an impact.
So, follow that format of Situation, Obstacles, Actions, and Results and your interviews will soar.
When people put their children to sleep they often tell stories. The stories aren’t designed to engage the child and, of course, to relax them. As adults, we forget the power of stories and there is no place for powerful to tell stories that a job interview. There is a format to effective interview stories and you need to be prepared with a number of stories for every interview you take. The format goes by the acronym of SOAR. You start off with the situation you have been involved with. What did you step into? Was the problem you were asked to address? The obstacle you had to contend with? The obstacle you had to overcome to contend with those situations. What action sdid you take in order to solve that problem? The results that you achieved by doing all of this is the R in SOAR. Results need to be quantified; you can’t just say everyone lives happily ever after. You can joke about that in the interview (you don’t start off with, “once upon a time”), You do talk about the situation you were facing, obstacles you faced, actions that you took and results that you got quantified in money saved or money earned for your company wherever possible. There’s no better way to stand out from the competition by quantifying using metrics because your competition often isn’t using them. When an employer is trying to evaluate what you did, as a recent guest of mine on Job Search Radio said, we’re looking for measurements of results. Whether it’s the size and scope of the project you worked on the results of what you did, numbers create an impact. So, follow that format of Situations Obstacles, Actions and Results and your interviews will soar.
No B. S. Job Search Advice: Stories Aren’t Just for Bedtime
No B. S. Job Search Advice: Stories Aren’t Just for Bedtime