Following on from my previous post about having courage in the job search process  the client I was coaching ahead of her interview yesterday showed me feedback she had received after being unsuccessful in a previous interview. It said that whilst she had performed well the decision on who to hire was made on the fact that the successful candidate had specific experience in something that could be very valuable to the business. My client said that this had not been included in the list of either “essential” or “desirable” experience in the job specification and as she could not compete on that she was happy to accept the outcome.

For me this highlights how importance it is to tell stories to answer  interview questions. Good interviewers will tease information from candidates but the candidate has to play their part. This is their moment in the spotlight! So providing evidence of experience by telling relevant stories with details and examples ( blending more than one to make the point if necessary) is crucial. In most cases great care will have been taken in preparing  the job description but something might just come up in the interview that was missed or actually opens up areas of new potential that had not been considered.

A couple of things to remember though.

Waffling  is different from telling a story. Make an impact by answering in a structured way with a beginning, middle and end. ( I teach this in my public speaking workshops but remind students that it is an important skill in many situations!)

Use the “have you any questions” time to tell the interviewer about anything you think is important in relation to what you have to offer that has not come up in the interview to that point.