A great career story goes beyond your resume
Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash
If you tend to freeze or ramble during job interviews, preparing well for the dreaded “tell me about yourself” question can help you feel more confident. In addition, a compelling career story helps a potential employer better understand how your unique perspective and skills can meet their needs.
Think Beyond Your Resume
When you walk into an interview, assume that the employer has already read your resume. Your resume landed you the interview, but the compelling story you tell in person will land you the job.
While you want to highlight skills and past experience, you need to create a bigger picture in your mind about what your background ultimately delivers that is valued by an employer. When you look back at your career history, can you pinpoint a few themes that led to your success in each role?
If you have managed teams in several of your roles, for example, think about traits unique to you that have helped you inspire and lead people. Your story could become something like:
“I feel most accomplished professionally and personally when I have an understanding of each person’s strengths and unique contribution to the team. In my career, I have made it a point to work with my direct reports to tap into their strengths. I want them to see me as a coach and someone they can trust to anticipate the needs of the team. And I want to guide them to ensure that they are contributing valuable results to meet the company’s goals.”
By highlighting your management style as your career story, rather than a chronological list of past positions, you show the employer how you will approach your new role as a leader of a high performing team. You also reveal an understanding of what it takes to succeed in that role.
Be Human
If you feel passion for your work, use your career story to explain why. Injecting a bit of your personality into your story allows an interviewer to see you as human. Talking about your passion for your profession or role gives you more dimension and helps an employer envision you as part of their team.
According to The Muse:
“You don’t have to go into a huge amount of detail, but if your goal in an interview is to stand out among the applicant pool and be memorable, then infusing this answer with some passion can help you do that.”
Think you don’t have a passion? Try recalling what led you to your choice of career in the first place. You might be surprised at the “why” you uncover in the process. Maybe a family member’s experience with cancer led you to a career in medicine, or maybe an entrepreneurial neighbor sparked your interest in business.
Origin stories make for a compelling narrative and can lend color to your career story. Try thinking of your career from a storyteller’s point of view.
In addition, if the employer’s mission or vision resonates with you, talk about that. Show that you don’t want to simply “plug and play” at any organization, but that you are a unique match for that organization in particular.
Understand Your Audience
A good story is as much about the listener as it is about you.
Do your research and understand a potential employer as much as you can prior to the interview. Scour the company’s website, carefully review the job description and ask others for insight into the organization and its culture.
That research will allow you to frame your career story in a way that appeals to the employer’s greatest needs. When you show an understanding of the company’s culture, mission and/or pain points, you can better paint yourself as a logical fit for the interviewer.
During the interview, ask questions to better understand your audience, and then share pieces of your story as appropriate.
Ready to take your career to the next level? Contact me for a free strategy call and learn what career coaching can do for you. I am available during this social distancing period, and now is a great time to work on your career development strategy.