Dear Readers! The following post is part of Doria’s series “The Dream Job is No Accident.” Today, you can read Part 16. You can find the previous articles using the search function under “Dream Job Series.” The next posts will appear weekly on the blog. Enjoy reading and working on your ideas!
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You’ve secured an interview, now it’s time to achieve a “You are our candidate” during the conversation.
Which has a greater impact?
“A gifted computer developer” or “Dropped out of college, fired from own company?” – “Empress of Austria and Hungary” or “The great love of Emperor Franz Joseph, a willful peasant girl, fatal stab to the heart?” – “Famous Austrian singer” or “Past hearing loss, the bathrobe worn during the last song of every concert, rejected by family due to love for music?”
Do you recognize the secret of Steve Jobs, Empress Sissi, or Udo Jürgens? They provide us with stories that we can retell because they stay in our minds more easily. Stories have a greater impact on us than mere facts and information. They go deeper, touch our souls, and more readily capture our attention and focus.
Storytelling is a form of narration that conveys wisdom through metaphors.
So, what story is so brilliant that it reaches your counterpart, casts you in the best light, and demonstrates the benefit for the company? By using storytelling, you achieve something else very valuable: You do not get forgotten. The story remains in the company, living on in the minds of the HR professionals. Even if they did not hire you back then, the story will resurface at the next meeting.
You can use storytelling in various phases of the interview. The easiest way to start storytelling is to use the following phrases (see below) and then complement them with your facts. You tell these points regardless of what the person has asked. Simply start with:
- Why I did this is a good topic…
- I’ll briefly tell you how it came about…with whom I progressed…
- This person taught me…what is important for you…
- Why I am applying with you…
We all know about snap judgments, right? We assess and judge people within a fraction of a second. Only a tiny two percent of all sensory perceptions happen consciously. The remaining 98% are handled by the reptilian part of us. Without us wanting it, we form our subjective image of the other person. From that exact moment, a lot of work begins in the interview. If the subjective image of the HR professionals or managers about us is positive, it’s essential to maintain it. If it’s more negative, we need to shift it in our favor.
In the next part, we will address the 5 stages of storytelling in the job interview!
Photo by Reuben Juarez on Unsplash
