8

Stand Out from the Crowd by Telling Stories

PAINT A PICTURE OF YOU DOING THE JOB WELL

Stories create a snapshot of you doing the job and are often remembered long after the details of your résumé are forgotten. In an interview, stories make your accomplishments come to life and can totally change an employer’s perception of you. In fact, interviewers often ask for Stories, when they say, Tell me about a time when you . . . or Give me an example of . . . Coming to the interview prepared will make your stories more effective, and you more confident.

Stories can also help get you an interview. They can be told by you or a Credible Reference to convince the employer to invite you to talk further. Your Stories will always be unique to you. Learning how to tell them effectively will ensure you stand out for the right reasons.

As you think back on what you’ve read in this book, what comes to mind? It’s likely to be the stories we’ve told. The same is true for your interview. Interviewers will remember your Stories and be persuaded by them. They often ask for examples of you doing a specific task or demonstrating a specific quality. If you haven’t prepared before the interview, you can freeze up, offer weak examples, or say something that gets you screened out. However, if you choose and practice telling your Stories beforehand, you’ll appear more confident and qualified.

Here are our top tips for developing effective true Stories. First, the Story must meet an employer need. If the employer doesn’t need it, it’s not a selling point. Preferably the Story should tell how you solved a problem, saved the company money, or made them money. For example, if the job requires event planning skills, a Story about how you easily handled problems that arose while planning a conference or a fund-raiser would paint a great picture. If you are trying to prove you’re detail-oriented, a Story about being the person in the accounting office coworkers turned to when they couldn’t find missing pennies or files highlights how you can save the company in staff time and problems with auditors. Vivian wanted to prove her talent for finding creative ways to engage young students in subjects that many find boring and difficult. She told a story about how her students looked forward to math lessons because they were allowed to spread a layer of shaving cream across their desks and use their fingers as the pencil. Their happy, eager attitude made it easier and more fun for her, too.

Second, go beyond the specific incident to the positive results you achieved. Vivan’s story was made more effective by sharing the principal’s surprise at her student’s good test results and positive attitude toward math. Albert was applying to be the head of maintenance at a small industrial complex. With more than ten years’ experience in building maintenance, he was skilled in most aspects of the work. However, he realized that “being good on his tools” was not enough to become the head of maintenance. So, to prove he had the problem-solving skills needed to be a manager, he shared a Story about saving his last company more than $50,000 by designing and recommending a preventative maintenance plan. His plan revealed a plumbing problem that could have caused more than $50,000 in damages if it had not been addressed. Repairs took less than a day and cost less than $300 in supplies.

TAKING A PAGE FROM BUSINESS . . .

Use the STAR Approach.¹ To create effective Stories, briefly describe the Situation you faced or Task you accomplished, then explain the Actions you took and the positive Results you achieved. Using STAR as your template ensures you select specific stories that highlight accomplishments.

Be sure your Story doesn’t include any information that could get you screened out. Prince wanted to tell the owner of a shipping company about the time he stood up to an armed robber in the corner store where he worked. Although this story illustrated that he could be depended on to safeguard the owner’s interests, it might have caused concerns about his judgment and possible lawsuits if someone got shot. Before using that story, he had to be sure the employer agreed with him on how to handle robbers. If the employer didn’t, he should pick a different story. Lois’s dependability was also brought into question when she lied because she didn’t think her accomplishments were impressive enough. When the prospective employer called to check the facts, her exaggeration was discovered, her trustworthiness was brought into question, and she was screened out.

Lastly, keep your Stories brief and to the point, only thirty to ninety seconds. Leave the employer wanting more, not wishing you’d shut up. Don’t estimate. Time yourself. And remember, you want to create a conversation, so allow the employer to ask you questions if she wants more information. Tell each Story to your friends. Ask them if it proves your point, doesn’t cause any concern, and is engaging. Use their feedback to make it even better. Also, ask what follow-up questions they might ask if they were the employer, so you can prepare good answers for them as well. When you think it’s ready, tell yourself the Story in the mirror so you can be sure your facial expressions match your message. It might seem strange at first, but it works! Stories are a powerful and memorable way to prove you’re the best person for the job.

A FRONT DOOR APPROACH: NOW FOR THE REST OF THE STORY

Résumés and paper applications don’t lend themselves to sharing stories. However, online applications often ask you to Give an example of a time when you . . . , which is a request for a Story. Brief Stories (one to three sentences) can also be used in cover letters to highlight a needed quality, skill, or attitude, counter a concern, or show passion for the job, as Melissa did when applying to work as an insurance claims clerk:

I know I am new to the insurance industry, but I have five years’ office and customer service experience and would really like to work for ABC Insurance. Last year, when my mother was in a serious car accident, the support of your team made

TIPS FOR COVER LETTERS

An effective cover letter will make the reader want to review your résumé and meet the person behind the letter. It should make the reader feel like you’re speaking directly to him and allow him to see how you fit into his company. Keep it to one page, and address it to a specific person, not a job title. Feature your key message in your cover letter, but don’t waste space making it a repeat of the Highlights of Experience section on your résumé. Instead use your cover letter to:

1. Highlight selling points that don’t fit smoothly in a résumé. Demonstrate your knowledge of the company, industry trends, and current challenges and solutions by sharing a brief story. Tout valuable or hard-to-find qualities and attitudes with brief examples, perhaps about your passion for a particular issue, your integrity, or as Melissa did, why you really want to work for this company. Draw attention to a valuable network of yours or increase your standing by sharing what your Credible References say about you. The fact that internationally renowned career development expert and bestselling author Richard Bolles² named Debra Angel (MacDougall) as one of “six thinkers who have had the most influence on me over the years” significantly increased her credibility.

2. Address concerns that can’t be easily dealt with on the résumé. Sergeant Murphy used his cover letter to refute a stereotype that was getting him screened out. You might need to briefly explain what you have done and learned during a recent gap in work experience, or share your motivation to stay in the area even though you have relocated several times. End your cover letter with a clear statement that you look forward to talking with the employer further and will follow up if you haven’t heard within a specified time.

Electronic cover letters should be briefer because employers often scan rather than read them. Use concise bullets to highlight key thoughts. As with all of your employer correspondence, have someone proofread your cover letters for typos and grammar, as well as clarity and effectiveness.

a difficult time easier, and their guidance saved me and your company a lot of time and money.

Sergeant Murphy used his cover letter to counter the stereotypes about career marines. After twenty years of military service, he wanted to transition into a counseling position at a university, but the student life staff were concerned that military discipline and university life were incompatible. His cover letter politely and humorously explained that he was not a typical sergeant, and why he could easily relate to students. It resulted in three schools that wanted to meet “the soldier who wrote that letter,” and a job offer. Remember, the purpose of a cover letter and résumé is to get an interview so you can offer the proof that will get you hired.

A SIDE DOOR APPROACH: A SUBTLE TECHNIQUE

Stories can be a very effective tool in both the Open and Hidden Markets for impressing decision makers or their gatekeepers to consider you for a position. While searching the web, Eli found a blind ad for an assistant to the senior vice president of a major music label. It was easy to draw Facts from his previous work experience to prove he could meet the qualifications. He also had some unique selling points that would be valuable to this employer. First, his extensive knowledge of music trivia meant he could recognize most artists instantly, but he also possessed the professional grace to never act like a star-struck fan. Also, because artists can be demanding and temperamental, he decided to share a Story from his last job, in which he regularly dealt with foreign customers who were also notoriously demanding and temperamental.

Rather than merely submitting his résumé to the designated website, he wrote spontaneous letters to the assistant to the CEO for each local music label, knowing that as the highest-level assistants, their opinions would carry weight. He didn’t write to the VPs directly, because he didn’t know which department was hiring. His unstated goal was to have his letter passed to the VP who was hiring, so that person would contact him and request his résumé.

Rob found that Stories were a subtle way to share his greatest strengths with potential employers or Credible References. He used them at social events, such as BBQs, dinner parties, and mixers, or when casually chatting as a customer at companies he wanted to work for. His one caution was in between his stories to ask questions that allowed the other person to also share his or her strengths. This makes it feel like a friendly, open conversation, not a desperate effort to impress. If the other person was reluctant to share, then Rob limited himself to one story. He has used this technique to help him get his last five jobs.

QUICK TIPS FOR STORIES

• Prepare three to six true Stories that paint a picture of you successfully doing a specific task the employer needs for the job you want.

• Don’t share inappropriate information or lie.

• Keep your Stories to only thirty to ninety seconds. If employers want more information, they’ll ask.

• Keep your written Stories to one to three sentences. Yes, a one sentence story is possible, as illustrated earlier.

• Share each of your Stories with several friends and make adjustments.

• Practice each Story in the mirror. Your actions speak louder than you may think.

We’ve discussed the four ways you can prove you meet the employer’s needs so you stand out. Now, let’s take a look at where you can draw your accomplishments from, particularly if you are changing fields or transitioning into the business culture from school, the military, full-time parenting, a correctional institution, foreign employment, or similar. You may be surprised at just how many transferable skills you have!