Building Your Inventory: Preparing Your Stories
In Chapter 1, we covered how proper preparation prevents poor performance. This chapter will focus on preparing for your interview by writing out your stories and examples to prevent being caught off guard.
From a Client:
For me, writing out the stories was key. When I talk about myself, I don’t usually focus on I did this, or I did that because that’s not the interesting part of the story for me.
Forcing myself to write out the story in this format brought the things I did to the forefront. If I told the same story to a stranger, it wouldn’t be as interesting, or the person I was talking to would probably think I had a huge ego. But in an artificial situation like the job interview, using this format was essential.
By having an inventory of stories to pull from, you will be able to adjust your stories to fit the situation or factor. Organizing your inventory of stories by factor will not only give you a resource of stories but a method to address what the interviewer is seeking as a key factor. You will be able to stop worrying about the questions and focus on the factors that the interviewer will be focusing on.
Example:
Question: “Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with a coworker.”
By thinking “factor,” you know that the interviewer is seeking examples of your ability to communicate and relate with others. But, what if you don’t have a story ready that covers a conflict with a coworker?
One method I teach my clients is to try “morphing,” or “putting a spin” on the answer.
(The words morphing or morphed serve as a means to communicate the idea of replacing one item for another. The meaning according to dictionary.com: “to transform or be transformed completely in appearance or character: he morphed from nerd into pop icon.” In this case, we are using the term to change the original question to fit an answer you have, even though it’s not a perfect match.)
Morphed Answer: “I have an example of a time when I had a conflict with my boss.”
The factor is the same (communication and relating to others), and most of the time this method of morphing will give the interviewer the information needed. So, if the interviewer is focusing on the factor and how you communicate and relate with others, the morphed answer would show your ability in this area.
There will also be times when you do not have the work experience to answer this type of question, such as the person who is changing fields, re entering the workforce, or is a new student. If you don’t have an example of a conflict with a coworker, you can use a life experience.
A Volunteer Job Example
Problem:
This is an example of how I handled a conflict in my volunteer job as a youth soccer referee. I had a conflict with one of the team coaches. He was being very disruptive and yelling after every call I made. This was extremely upsetting to not only me, but to the players and coaches of the other team as well.
Action:
What I did was, I walked over to the sideline and talked to this coach. He was talking down to me, saying how horrible the calls were and accusing me of favoring the other team. I told him he must control himself or I would have to kick him out of the park. The coach realized that I wasn’t going to take his nonsense, and he walked back to the sidelines. Feeling that I got through to the coach by talking to him, I continued the game. Not too long after that I heard the coach yelling at my calls again. The next time the ball went out of bounds, I went back over to the sideline and told the coach in a stern voice, “Coach, I just spoke to you about your language. This is your last warning, and if I need to speak to you again during this game you will be thrown out.” The coach realized that I was fed up with his tactics.
I didn’t hear from the coach for the rest of the game. The two teams went on and finished the game, and after the game the coach ran over to me and apologized for his behavior. He said he got carried away and was sorry for causing the disturbance. The other coaches thanked me and told me I had handled the situation very professionally.
This is a very good example of “morphing” the story and still getting your point across.
The interviewer can hear that you were firm but professional. You were able to demonstrate that you can handle a difficult problem without losing your temper. The interviewer sees you in another setting, using your leadership skills, and you answered the question by morphing the answer.
If, for some reason, you run into a situation where there is resistance by the interviewer who wants an exact example to answer the question, you will have to dig deep and come up with an example of you and a coworker having a difference of opinion. Although this more than likely will not happen, it is always a good idea to be prepared for the unexpected.
An inventory is a supply of things that you may need. An inventory of stories is a “stockpile” of information that you will use as needed to answer any questions that could arise. This is different from memorizing answers to questions that may not be asked. This is an inventory of stories based on factors that you have identified as relevant to this job. Your stories are interchangeable because they will cover more than one factor.
One of my clients wrote:
This may sound ridiculous, but at times I was not even sure what question I was answering because I was focused on the factor.
Sometimes, a question may seem confusing because it could be the same factor only asked with a completely different slant. Below is an example of a double meaning of a factor.
Factor: communication; relating to others; convincing others.
There is a big difference between the following two questions:
“Tell me about a time when you had a conflict or difference of opinion with someone.”
“Give me an example of a time when you convinced someone to change things your way.”
Both questions relate to the factors of communication and relating to others, but there are two distinctly different skills that are being sought. What does it take to have good communication skills? You may think it’s talking to others, and that would be correct. But communication goes beyond just talking. It means being able to handle yourself in situations in which you relate to others, sometimes under stress. The greater majority of jobs require good communication skills, whether it’s relating to people who have problems, convincing others to do things your way, or giving lectures in front of groups.
This is where you will begin to read between the lines. For example, if you are going to apply for a sales position, communication will be quite different than if you are applying for a position as a scientist. The salesperson will need good customer service skills with an ability to convince others that whatever he is selling is going to make a difference in the customer’s life. Whereas the scientist will require good communication skills in order to communicate in a report, request a grant, or present to fellow colleagues or members of the community. These are two different methods of relating to others, but both fall under the factor “communication and relating to others.”
Because of the overlap between some of the factors, plus the double meaning that some factors can have, it is suggested that you think of two examples for each factor. It is always good to have a backup story when you are pulling from your reserve.
When you first start writing your stories, it will be easier if you focus on one factor per story, even though the story may involve multiple factors. Think of it like learning to play golf.
The first thing you need to learn is to hit the ball. Later, as you improve, you can learn the more difficult shots. Right now, aim for the factor.
Using the most common factors as a base, it is suggested that you begin to build your inventory of stories around these factors. Once you have an actual job description or posting to work from, you can refine the list to match the needs of the job.
The following brief list of factors is explained in in more detail in the previous section.
• Honesty and integrity: moral issues
• Communication: relating to others, convincing others
• Adaptable: open to change, flexible
• Problem solving: analyze, evaluate, judgments/decisions
• Initiative: above and beyond, resourceful
• Leadership: motivate, role model, team player
• Plan and organize: prioritize
• Accountable: results-oriented
• Composure: to stay positive calm under pressure
• Self-motivated: enthusiastic, passionate
Remember, it is best if you have a reserve story to use for each factor, just in case. Writing your inventory of stories may seem like a tedious task, but it is work that will pay off when you sit in the interview and have your stories prepared and ready to answer those difficult questions. It will be much easier preparing the stories before the interview than coming up with stories on the spot during the interview. The feeling of being prepared will boost your confidence and, as a result, affect your performance during the interview.
Words of wisdom from a client:
When a question was asked me in the interview, my brain snapped right to the factor. Since I had categorized my stories by factor, I was able to scroll down a list in my brain of which story to choose. This gave me tremendous latitude to select which story to tell, much like I was browsing a shelf of DVDs deciding which movie to watch.
There are many ways you can organize your inventory of stories so that you will be able to pull one up just by thinking of the factor. Another way to think of organizing your stories is to think of a file drawer with Pendaflex files. Each tab will represent a factor, and within the files are your stories.
There is no one that knows your stories better than you, so if you forget a fact or a word, it really won’t matter as long as you get your point across through your example. Don’t try to memorize your stories, but know the points and proportions of the story well enough to be a good storyteller.