Telling your career story

Interviews are scary. You’ve managed to get past the screening software and onto the hiring manager’s short list. You have a legitimate shot at the job you’re hoping for. Your fate lays in how well you can express yourself in a few short minutes. The secret to good interviews is having your story when you come to the table.

What is your absolute perfect ideal world dream job? Where do you see yourself in five years, ten years, or at the end of your career? Think hard about what it looks like. What sort of company are you working at? Do you own this company or is it an existing company? What sets this company apart from others? Who are your coworkers? What skills are you utilizing? Form a picture in your mind – or better yet, draw or collage a picture – that clearly illustrates this objective. This image is the cover photo of your career autobiography.

Now, look at your resume. This is the table of contents for your story. Each entry should reflect a few key points about how that role has brought you to where you currently are in your career. It should tell a story about why you chose the role and what skills you gained or improved. Picture the work you performed in each role and how that work is contributing to your cover photo. If there are no talking points you can glean from that experience which relate to your story, perhaps that chapter should be left on the cutting room floor. Be sure each chapter is a complete story, including both beginning and end, and make certain your intro addresses what has happened in the time since the end of the last chapter.

Once you are in your interview, it is time to tell your story. While you will be asked directed questions, each answer should easily relate to one of the chapters you have outlined. Technical questions, achievements, challenges, and aspirations can all be gleaned from the story outlined in your table of contents. Even the tough questions that seem like a trap are easily told within the structure of this story.

Here’s how to tackle the tough questions, using the story you have prepared for yourself:

Q: “Give me a summary of your background”

A: Rather than recite your table of contents, which they’ve already read, give the chapter overviews. Mention specifically what led you to each role and how it has led you towards your cover photo.

Q: “What is your greatest accomplishment?”

A: While these should already be mentioned in your table of contents, as they are the highlight of each chapter, it’s important to decide in advance which one will best illustrate the type of success you hope to show in this new chapter. Have a clear picture of what drew you to this position and what skills will likely be called upon. This is your opportunity to show that you have not only achieved things, but that you can already see yourself achieving things in this new position.

Q: “Describe a time where you overcame an obstacle.”

A: Every job is full of obstacles. The important part here is not to badmouth your previous company and coworkers in this response. Whether your obstacle was an unrealistic budget,difficult coworkers, or a stubborn bug that couldn’t be pinpointed, the soft skills learned through these obstacles are just as critical to your story as the technical skills. Recite the chapter in which you resolved conflict, applied creative solutions, and charged forward to victory. Be sure this relates to the soft skills in your cover photo. If the person in your cover photo is a leader or a member of a team, this chapter should end in the unity of that team – not in success gained at the expense of another.

Q: “Describe a situation when you failed and what you would have done differently.”

A: This one is really hard. As with any story, not every chapter will be positive and uplifting. No one likes to dwell on their mistakes and shortcomings, but it is important to show how you have looked back on this trials and learned from them. Regardless of how damaging the failure may have been, a deconstruction of the lessons learned shows that you are prepared to avoid  these pitfalls in the future.

Q: “What is your greatest strength? What is your greatest weakness?”

A: Most of us have a pretty good idea of our strengths, but few of us can tell them in the context of our story. The flip side of this is that some of our personality traits can make it difficult for others to relate to us. By understanding our strengths and what motivates us, we can see how conflicts may arise when a subject isn’t presented in a way that works for us. I will rarely plug books or products, but the StrengthsFinder 2.0 book and online test were invaluable for seeing my strongest personality traits and how they contribute to my career.