{"id":5241,"date":"2021-05-11T17:14:47","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T17:14:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobhunt.fj-dev.com\/job-interview-success-secret\/"},"modified":"2022-02-04T20:56:43","modified_gmt":"2022-02-05T03:56:43","slug":"job-interview-success-secret","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/job-interview-success-secret\/","title":{"rendered":"Job Interview Success Secret: Your Relevant Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For successful job interviews, words are nice;<strong><em> stories are better!<\/em><\/strong><em> (Nonfiction, of course!)<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; background-color: rgba(0, 197, 179, 0.4);\">My advice is to <em>always<\/em> prepare stories you are going to tell during the interview that address the job description.<\/p>\n<p>When I prepare my candidates for their job interviews, we always talk about &#8220;<a title=\"3 Steps to Interview Success: Build Your Interview Checklist\" href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/job-interview-success\/\">the checklist<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The checklist varies, of course, based on the person and the job they are seeking.<\/p>\n<p>This checklist is the list of examples from their experience that <em>directly address<\/em>es the qualifications they to need to cover during the interview. These might include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Key projects<\/li>\n<li>Closing big deals<\/li>\n<li>Huge contributions to operational savings<\/li>\n<li>Demonstration of industry knowledge<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For details creating and using <em>your<\/em> checklist, read <a title=\"3 Steps to Interview Success: Build Your Interview Checklist\" href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/job-interview-success\/\">3 Steps to Interview Success: Build Your Interview Checklist<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<h2><em>Showcase <\/em>Your &#8220;Soft Skills&#8221;<\/h2>\n<p>Most companies are looking for candidates with strong <a href=\"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/what-are-soft-skills-definition-examples\/\">soft skills<\/a>, including communication, problem-solving, negotiation, and decision-making, among many others.<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about soft skills, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/what-are-soft-skills-definition-examples\/\">What are Soft Skills? Definition &amp; Examples<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>When adding these to your checklist of key qualifications, how should you address the soft skills in the interview?<\/p>\n<p>The answer is the same. Tell stories.<\/p>\n<p>More specifically, tell stories <em>within stories.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>The Wrong Way<\/h3>\n<p>First, consider how many candidates approach this. They simply mention they are a \u201cgreat communicator.\u201d Or a \u201cteam player.\u201d Perhaps they\u2019ll say, they are a multi-tasker or work well under pressure.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 2em; text-align: center; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; background-color: rgba(0, 197, 179, 0.4);\">Just saying you possess these talents is the equivalent of stating you know the latest programming language or close multi-million dollar deals. Without some proof substantiating those claims, they&#8217;re just words &#8212; <em>until <\/em>you tell a story around them.<\/p>\n<h3>The Right Way<\/h3>\n<p>When you talk about your experience, you should tell stories that convey the details of your past accomplishments and projects:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Outline the situation or challenge<\/li>\n<li>Talk about the approach and tasks you executed (maybe even tools and knowledge you leveraged).<\/li>\n<li>Describe the successful results.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These stories are what builds your credibility that you have the specific qualifications for the job.<\/p>\n<p>But what about the soft skills?<\/p>\n<h2>The Story <em>Within<\/em> the Story<\/h2>\n<p>Look at the job description and the qualifications for the soft skills needed &#8212; even add others you know are valuable in the role.<\/p>\n<p>Then, think about some of the everyday activities in which you participated or led. Many of the meetings, conflicts, late nights, trouble-shooting, and brainstorming sessions contain the soft skills the employer needs.<\/p>\n<p>The way to share your ability in these areas is to weave short examples into the bigger story you are telling about the project or challenge.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; background-color: rgba(0, 197, 179, 0.4);\">Matter-of-factly talk about a situation during the project where many of these attributes had to be leveraged.<\/p>\n<h3>Kind of Like This&#8230;<\/h3>\n<p>Consider this example. While talking about a key project, you\u2019ve painted the picture on the overall goal and the situation. You\u2019ve started talking about the steps you took to achieve the results and NOW you take a short detour to talk about the soft skills:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;I was working on the project with my teammates and we hit a snag. The team could not agree on the direction to take. We had three different ideas. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;So I took the lead, and had us go into a conference room and discuss the options. I gathered the thoughts of everyone in the room, including all the pro\u2019s and con\u2019s of each option, and helped the team draw a conclusion using a decision-matrix tool I like to use. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;We then determined the time line associated with the selected option. Since it was two weeks longer than the original plan, I communicated to management the required scheduled slippage, but also the reasoning and justification for the delay.&#8221;<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Then, <em>seamlessly<\/em> return to the bigger story, and tell how it ends and the stellar outcomes that were achieved. So, without saying, <em>&#8220;I\u2019m a great this or that,&#8221;<\/em> you\u2019ve allowed the interviewer to draw their own conclusions on many soft skills (and hopefully make note of it).<\/p>\n<p>If you were the hiring manager listening to the example above, how many attributes and talents would you have noted? Does your list include: team player\/collaborator, eliciting the quiet voices, conflict resolution, initiative, decision-making, project management, and communicating bad news? I bet it does!<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<h2>Don\u2019t Overdo It<\/h2>\n<p>You need to be careful not to go off on these small tangents too much.<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t want to be redundant or spend too much time on this.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; background-color: rgba(0, 197, 179, 0.4);\">Spend just enough time to cover the key or unique attributes <em>they <\/em>seek.<\/p>\n<p>Be sure to spread them out in a few of the bigger stories instead of all compressed into one. This should be a slightly subtle approach &#8212; you don\u2019t need to have an obvious pattern.<\/p>\n<h3>Bottom Line on Success Stories for Interviews<\/h3>\n<p>Just like the bigger qualifications, the intangibles count, too. It\u2019s harder to convince an interviewer you possess these attributes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; background-color: rgba(0, 197, 179, 0.4);\">Just saying you\u2019re a \u201cteam player\u201d doesn\u2019t satisfy them. But, like the big stories about your past, the smaller stories about leveraging your arsenal of personal skills carry a lot of weight.<\/p>\n<p>In baseball, there is typically a play-by-play announcer and a color-commentary announcer. The balance of the two commentators gives the full picture of what\u2019s happening on the field. Hopefully combining the two in this approach, you will provide an informative, yet colorful, commentary during your next interview (and win).<\/p>\n<h3>More About Succeeding in Job Interviews:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"3 Steps to Interview Success: Build Your Interview Checklist\" href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/job-interview-success\/\">3 Steps to Interview Success: Build Your Interview Checklist<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Smart Answers to Interview Questions\" href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/..\/job_interviews\/smart-interview-answers\/\">Smart Answers to Interview Questions<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"The Starting Salary Question\" href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/starting-salary-question\/\">The Starting Salary Question<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"9 Secrets for Nailing Your Phone Interview\" href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/ace-phone-interviews\/\">9 Secrets for Nailing Your Phone Interview<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Smart Answers to Interview Questions\" href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/..\/job_interviews\/smart-interview-answers\/\">Smart Answers to Interview Questions<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Converting Job Interviews into Job Offers\" href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/..\/job_interviews\/job-offers\/\">Convert Job Interviews into Job Offers<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Sample Job Interview Thank You Email\" href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/..\/job_interviews\/sample-interview-thank-you-email\/\">Sample Job Interview Thank You Email<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>More About Working with Recruiters:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"How to Be Found by Recruiters on LinkedIn\" href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/linkedin-recruiters\/\">How to Be Found by Recruiters on LinkedIn<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"How to Add Recruiters to Your LinkedIn Network\" href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/linkedin-recruiters2\/\">How to Add Recruiters to Your LinkedIn Network<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/social-media-impact\/\">How Your Social Media Reputation Impacts Hiring Decisions<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"How to Manage Your References to Close - NOT Kill - Opportunities\" href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/effective-job-search-references\/\">How to Manage Your References to Close &#8211; NOT Kill &#8211; Opportunities<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Over 50: Managing the 'Age Issue'\" href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/managing-age-issue\/\">Over 50: Managing the &#8220;Age Issue&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"How to Gracefully Leave Your Old Job\" href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/leaving-your-job\/\">How to Gracefully Leave Your Old Job<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"How to Find a Job While You Have One\" href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/finding-job-while-employed\/\">How to Find a Job While You Have One<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" pull-right img-responsive img-circle\" style=\"margin: 5px 10px 10px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Jeff-Lipschultz-6.jpg\" alt=\"Jeff Lipschultz\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" \/><strong>About the author&#8230;<\/strong><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Job-Hunt&#8217;s Working with Recruiters Expert <a href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/working-with-recruiters-expert\/\">Jeff Lipschultz<\/a> is a 20+ year veteran in management, hiring, and recruiting of all types of business and technical professionals. He has worked in industries ranging from telecom to transportation to dotcom. Jeff is a founding partner of A-List Solutions, a Dallas-based recruiting and employment consulting company. Learn more about him through his company site <a href=\"http:\/\/www.alistsolutions.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">alistsolutions.com<\/a>. Follow Jeff on <a title=\"Jeff Lipschultz LinkedIn Profile\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jefflipschultz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a> and on Twitter (<a title=\"Jeff Lipschultz on Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JLipschultz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">@JLipschultz<\/a>).<br \/>\n<a title=\"More about this author\" href=\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/working-with-recruiters-expert\/\">More about this author<\/a>&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recruiter Jeff Lipschultz describes the secret to job interview success &#8212; demonstrating the soft skills employers want rather than just claiming to have those skills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":22747,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"old-site-template.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,44,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-job-interviews","category-recruiters","category-salary-compensation"],"last_modified_at":"","edited_by":"Elly Stauffer","acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5241"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24294,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5241\/revisions\/24294"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}