Imagine for a moment that you are the interviewer. You have two final candidates and you think back to their answers. At one point, you asked them both a simple question: “Why should we hire you for this job?” and they both gave similar reasons.
Here are their answers:
| “Well, I think you should hire me because I am very adaptable. This industry is changing every day and every project has different challenges. If you don’t adapt to the new challenges, it’s impossible to grow as a company. I’ve worked in this industry for 10 years and I’ve seen how things have changed. Companies come and go in this industry and you must stay on top of the newest technology and trends if you hope to survive. I know how quickly things can change and I know how to react when things begin to change again. If you hire me, I will bring my expertise and my ability to adapt to this position every day.” |
The second candidate responded like this:
| “You should hire me because of my ability to adapt to new challenges quickly. I’ve been in this industry for 5 years and it’s changing every day. I remember one time in my old company, we planned an entire project based on using this one software, right? We had a very strict timeline and just as we were beginning to work on the project when…our software crashed. It turned out, even though it was one of the leading programs, the company behind it had gone bankrupt and they stopped updating all their services. So we had to find a new program in a hurry, and no one had used it before! So in order to stay on schedule, I got permission to hire an outside consultant who was an expert with the new program. Our whole team did three days of intensive training on the new software and we got back to work. It was close, but we managed to finish on schedule. I think my ability to adapt and stay calm when there are setbacks makes me unique and well suited for this position.” |
Both candidates gave great answers during the interview in english. But which candidate do you think you will remember more clearly?
Think back to the people you have met in the past year. Especially those people who you’ve only shared 1-2 conversations with. Which ones do you remember?
It’s possible you don’t even remember the names of some of them, but I would bet you remember the stories you shared.
If you are able to tell good stories during your job interview in english, you will be remembered. The interviewer will not remember the first candidate very clearly. Their answer was good and clear, but it was not memorable. The interviewer will remember the second candidate, because they have a story to connect to the person and their answers.
Stories are how we connect to people, and connecting to your interviewer is the most important part of any interview. If you can’t connect to the person interviewing you, you will not be hired.
This is not just a theory, science tells us that connecting through stories can increase trust and compassion.
Stories also give interviewers something to react to. Look at the two answers above. For the first answer, the interviewer might say, “Okay, that’s great.” But it doesn’t leave opportunity for further discussion.
In contract, in the second story the interviewer has an opportunity to relate to the story. They might say, “Oh, I remember when that company went bankrupt. It created so many problems for us as well.”
All of a sudden you are having a friendly conversation. You are connecting.
There is no doubt the first candidate above is qualified and experienced. In fact, they have 5 more years experience than the second candidate. However, if they fail to use stories in their answers, they will have trouble impressing the interviewer.
The second candidate may not be as experienced, but they showed the interviewer their ability. They do more than say, “I’m adaptable.” They give clear evidence of a time they were forced to adapt.
The interviewer might ask more questions to the first candidate, but they shouldn’t have to do the extra work. Make the interviewer’s job easier by using stories to provide evidence of your qualities.
Using stories in your interview will make you a more competitive candidate.
What stories will you tell in your job interview? Join the conversation on Facebook or Instagram to share your ideas with us.
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