The 9th of our 10 tips for anyone looking to progress their career. A two-minute read about how to tell a story might be all the inspiration you need.
Expanding your Skill Set – Tip 9 of 10
The job skills shortage isn’t going anywhere so here is this week’s tip that you can take to improve the probability of your career success.
Tip 9 of 10: Know how to tell a story when being asked about it.
They would not be recruiting if they did not have a real task for you to do. You are there because they believe you could be the solution to their problem. So, help them resolve it – they want to feel that they can work with you – and that means you need to engage with them, not simply give answers.
Think about how you can make a start on their issues right there in the interview. Either cite instances where you’ve done it in the past or, if possible, by tackling some aspect of it there and then in the interview.
Don’t come up with pat solutions: they may well already have been tried. Talk about things you’ve done before. Show your working and your thought processes, show your knowledge of the subject and of dealing with people. Some elements are standard almost whatever the situation: gathering information, identifying options, consultation.
Be as specific as you can; what actions would you take, who would you involve, how would you monitor progress, what resources would you need? Give some thought to figures. Show how your actions would lead to the required result. Show how the manager would be involved; use his/her skills.
Show enthusiasm. Involve the manager in the discussion (‘Do you think that if we did xyz it would assist in abc?’ ‘Has such and such been investigated yet? What was the result?’). When you work together, this is what you will be doing; do it now.
An interview is a two-way dialogue, so give yourself a chance to establish if you are a good fit for them and if they are a good fit for you. Treat it as a business meeting rather than an interview and you will generally be more effective. Remember, you are there to secure the role, not to eulogise about your specialist subject.
For practical advice on how to make the change without being overwhelmed contact us to discuss how we can help.