Storytelling for Job Interviews
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able to communicate they have done so through stories. Just
look at the Aboriginal culture in Australia. It’s the oldest cultural history in the world that’s still alive today, thanks to generations of master story tellers and their Dreamtime storytelling.
It is only recently, however, that the business world has realised and embraced the power of stories. Storytelling in business is now not only accepted as a key leadership competency and communication skill, but is encouraged and highly sought
after.
Storytelling is sharing a story about an experience, but linking it
to a message that will influence and inspire your audience to
action.
fust because something is labelled a story, however, doesn’t
mean that it is a story. There’s a big difference between storytelling in business and storytelling you use at home with your family and friends to explain what you had for dinner or what
your cousin fill did last week.
So w hat is a sto ry?
A story has a sequence and structure around a specific event. It
contains sensory and emotional detail.
When you share a story in a business context, such as a job
interview, your story must have the following three ingredients
for it to have impact;
1. purpose - what is the point of your story? This is not
about sharing random stories that leave your interviewer
thinking, ‘What has this got to do with anything were
talking about?’
2. authenticity - is this story true? Never, ever make up stories - no matter how tempting it might be to land your dream job. Lying is not worth the damage it can cause to
your credibility and you never know when it might come
back and haunt you.
3. congmence - does this story really portray who you are
and what you believe? Don’t say you live and breathe
teamwork when you actually prefer to work in complete
isolation.
You will learn to put these points into practice as you work
through this book, finding and constructing your own stories.
H O W S T O R I E S H E L P I N J O B I N T E R V I E W S
The Greek philosopher Aristotle devised a model over 2500
years ago that is still relevant today. Aristotle said you need
three elements to successfully persuade and influence:
1. logos (sound logic) - the data, facts and research
2. ethos (personal credibility) - the degree of trustworthiness
and credibility you have
3. pathos (emotional connection) - the extent you connect
with someone and they connect with you.
When you're in a situation like a job interview, your main
aim is to persuade and influence the interviewer and decision
makers that you are the right person for the job. To do that, you
not only need to have logical reasons why you are the right person, but you also need to build personal credibility and an emotional connection so that they trust you and feel a connection with you. The trickiest part is that you need to do that better
then everyone else and relatively fast, considering interviews
generally only go for about an hour, sometimes less.
Most people in job interviews spend way too much time on
logic. They state all the facts: T’m the right person for the job
because I’ve worked in a similar role ... Have 20-plus years’
experience ... fust love sales!’ Know what the end result is? You
come across as boring and bland and when it comes to the
crunch, you just don’t seem to have the ‘right fit’ for the
organisation you’re interviewing for.
So how can you build trust and credibility and foster
emotional connection with your future employer to land y<
dream job?
Tell a story, of course.
C H A P T E R 2:
F O U R S T O R I E S T O N A I L A N I N T E R V I E W
Now that you know what a story is and why you need stories to
land your dream job, let’s look at the four story types you need
to have on hand for any job interview (Figure 2).
1. Literal story
A professional or work-related story that demonstrates a specific
capability you have (more on capabilities later). If you’re applying for a similar job in a similar industry, then the majority of your stories will be literal.
2. Learn story
Usually a work-related story, though sometimes it can be a personal one. that shows what you learned from a particular experience. The purpose of a learn story is to demonstrate one of your values (more on values later).
3. Lateral story
A personal story that you can use to demonstrate a specific
value you have. This story will show how you align with the organisation’s values and how you will fit in with their culture.
4 . Like story
Usually a personal story that shows how capable you are at
something, though sometimes it can be a work-related story
from a different job role or industry as the one you’re interviewing for. You may be just starting your career, changing careers or industries or returning to work from a long absence such as paternity/maternity leave or a career break.
Figure 2: Four story types you need to nail an interview
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As you work through this book, you will identify a variety of
different stories for each of the four story types. You may find
that several of your stories could be used for several of the story
types. That’s OK. As you hone your skills and gain confidence
in the storytelling process, you’ll be able to mix and match your
stories according to the job role you’re going for.
You do not need an identical number of stories for each
type. You may find you’ll be heavy in one and light in another.
For example, if you’re applying for a similar job, you may have
a lot of literal stories and perhaps only one or two like stories.
Perhaps you’re returning to work after an extended time, or this
is your first job, which means you will have a lot of like stories
and minimal literal stories, if any at all. Don’t worry! We’ll go
through the process together in the book and identify and construct as many potential stories as we can.
So let’s look in detail at the four story types you need to nail
an interview.
Literal sto rie s
Literal stories are exactly that: literal. They show you have specific capabilities and experience in the exact situation that the interviewer is looking for. When applying for a similar role in a
similar industry, you will likely have a lot of literal stories you
can draw on to demonstrate you have the right skills and experience for the role.
Tell us about a time when you had to lead a global change. You
tell them about a time you led a global change in a similar job
role and/or similar industry. Tell us how you dealt with a particularly challenging customer. You tell them about a time you dealt with an angry customer during your time as a sales assistant at
a record store, a role that’s similar to the one you’re interviewing for now, just at a different sales-based company.
If you’ve ever been for a job interview before then it’s likely
you’ve already had some experience sharing literal stories - perhaps you just didn’t know you were doing it. If you don’t
have literal stories because the role you are applying for is different
from anything you’ve done in the past, it is important that you
have ready-made like stories that you can proride instead.
P ut into practice
Read the following example o f a literal story for someone going
for a similar role in a similar industry7.
• What does this example say about the individual?
• How is this story7 more engaging than if the individual
were to simply state the facts?
• Does this remind you of any potential stories of your own
you could use?
Transforming HR
The largest project I e>er managed involved designing and delivering training across our entire organisation for a major change initiative. The transformation involved establishing a call centre
and specialised teams, as well as converting our HR policy into
diagrams that were all made available via a new HR online portal.
I was responsible for designing and delivering training to all
the people in the call centre and specialised teams as well as dealing with all the business units that were heavily impacted by this change. While this was very exciting, it was also daunting as our
deadline had been set and moving that date was not an option.
This required a tremendous amount of organisational and
project management, not to mention teamwork, to ensure al -
deliverables were implemented on time.
The result? After 18 months it was one of the very few projects
in the company that were delivered on time and under budget.
One of the most pleasing aspects of that project, and perhaps the
one I am most proud of, is that all the members of my team were
rightly acknowledged for doing a brilliant job and all of them
were successfully deployed into new roles, many with a promotion.
Learn sto rie s
Learn stories are usually professional or work-related, though
they sometimes can be personal. They demonstrate a lesson
that you have learned, either by something going right or going
wrong. Their power comes from showing your interviewer that
you are reflective, self-aware and that you learn by your mistakes. These are very attractive qualities for a potential employer, especially because you’re willing to be vulnerable and to admit that you’ve made mistakes (which we all do as humans).
Being able to voice what you learned from that mistake shows
maturity, no matter what your age is!
Brene Brown is a professor at the University7 of Houston
Graduate College of Social Work. Her book. Daring Greatly:
How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live,
Love, Parent, and Lead, is a New York Times number i bestseller. Her 2010 TEDx Houston talk, ‘The Power of Vulnerability7-’, is one of the most-viewed TED talks in the world. If you haven’t seen the talk, I suggest you have a look at it at some
stage.
Brown’s research busts the myth that vulnerability is a
weakness. Instead, she reveals that it is courageous, daring and
the ultimate sign of strength and confidence. They are some
very powerful personality traits to demonstrate in a job interview. Job interviews are not about letting it all hang out and potentially over-sharing, but rather using appropriate stories
and examples that humanise you and build rapport with your
interviewer.
Don’t feel you have to exclude stories if you didn’t act in line
with what you value; for example, honesty. (We’ll talk more
about your Values' in Step i: Define.) Sharing stories about
times when you were not congruent with your values and have
regrets is a great way of demonstrating, ironically, how much
those values are important to you. Your authentic self knows
when you’re ‘going against your gut” and it’s often these stories
we relate to; they help build resonance with whoever is interviewing you. It shows a great level of self-awareness and confidence.
P ut into practice
Read the following example of a learn story that shows something the individual regrets and what they learned from the experience.
• What does this example say about the individual?
• What lesson did they learn?
• Does this remind you of any potential stories of your own
you could use?
Don’t be a bully
As an undergraduate musician, it was mandatory to participate
in the university orchestrai, which was directed by an eccentric
Dutch man called Marco. Marco was renowned for his dedication, passion and enthusiasm while conducting. Unfortunately, he also had a tendency to become irrational and negative i f he felt the ensemble was not performing at its best.
At a particular rehearsal Marco started picking on my fie n d
Nick. In front- of the entire orchestra, he yelled, 'Nick, what is
this? You look like an old man; you're doing a terrible job! It
sounds awful!’ I remember feeling incredibly upset that my fie n d
u>as being spoken to in such a belittling and unprofessional
manner. What I was even more upset about is that I didn’t
make a stand and call Marco out on his bullying behaviour. It’s
a regret I have to this day but as a result of that experience, I
have made a choice to avoid being a bystander when I think
something is not l ight. Although this is sometimes hard, I stay
true to it.
Most recently, I witnessed ongoing bullying of one of my colleagues by our manager, and although it was hard and I fea red the repercussions, I called him out on his behaviour. Our manager was a bit taken aback, but the bullying, though it didn’t stop completely, was heavily reduced to the point that my colleague was able to deal with it.
Lateral sto rie s
Lateral stories are personal stories that demonstrate a particular
individual value you have. Told correctly, lateral stories pack a
whole lot of punch and can be your most powerful story because they have the potential to connect with the interviewer on a deep and personal level.
Consequently, these types of stories are often the hardest to
identify because it’s difficult to see what relevance they have to
a job interview or to work. Their power comes from their ability
to show aspects of your unique personality, which no one else
on this planet has. What you’ve done in your past; what experiences you’ve had; what you love to do on a daily basis; these all shape who you are as an individual and instantly distinguish
you from anyone else.
As this is the story type that people usually struggle most
with, I've included more examples than the other types. The following three examples will help you grasp what a lateral story is and how it can be used to relate back to your unique personality.
P ut into practice
Read the following examples of lateral stories, which all demonstrate how to link a personal value you have back to a work-related situation.
• What does this example say about the individual?
• How has the individual linked their personal life to their
professional life?
• Does this remind you of any potential stories of your own
you could use?
Pursuing dreams
My daughter Millie loved to sing from the minute she was bom.
From her very first scream, from the minute she could talk, she
always expressed a desire to perform and sing. As early as primary school, she would t
ell anyone who would listen that she was going to be a singer when she grew up. I found myself strongly pushing her in other directions, telling her how hard it is to make a career in the arts. I lectured a primary school child about
career choices! I heard that cliche ‘You will need something else
to fall back on come out of my mouth more times than I care to
remember. Whilst I paid for singing and piano lessons, I don't
think I ever fully appreciated the fire that burned within my
young daughter to pursue her dreams.
When looking for a secondary school for Millie, we went to a
school with a strong reputation in the performing arts, thinking
she would be happiest there, but still secretly wishing that she
would find something ‘normal’ to do for her career. As we sat in
the office answering questions, the principal asked, ‘What- do you
want to do when you finish school, Millie?’. She looked him
straight in the eye and without hesitation said, 7 want to be a
singer’. ‘Brilliant,’ he replied.
I had a long overdue aha! parenting moment light then. I
was the only person that didn’t utterly believe singing was my
daughter’s strength and her calling. That very moment taught me
not just to change my parenting style, but also my leadership
style and the view I have of the teams I lead. I stopped trying to
have the child I wanted and embraced the child I had. I now pay
particular a ttention to the strengths of the team members I have,
to embrace their differences and be mindful of any so-called
' singers’. I'm more patient and adaptive, and I've been able to
build higher performing teams as a result.
Milk crates
When I was a kid, my dad took me to the football every week. It
was standing room only, and because I was smaller then everyone else I could barely see the action.
One week, I decided to bring along an old milk crate to stand
on. It was great! I was finally above everyone else and could
watch the whole game. The next week I brought along the milk
crate again, but this time I noticed that a few other people had
brought along their own milk crates. We'd started a trend! But