Successful Interviewers Can Dissect Good Stories

An effective way to highlight prior job experience and desirable personal qualities in an interview is by telling stories - similar to a good movie or play.  We don’t mean stories that are not true…but narratives that focus attention on what makes an excellent candidate for the job.

Influential candidates are excellent at thinking up stories that illustrate how they have solved problems in the past and how they would directly contribute to the successful future of the interviewer’s organization. They arm themselves with relevant anecdotes that showcase good qualities—collaboration, integrity, an ethic of hard work—whatever would be most desirable in the new setting. And when it comes to failures, they are ready with a narrative that conveys an honest admission of where they went wrong and what they learned from the experience.

Stories can have a significant impact; they are much more powerful and memorable than a simple, response.

So your job as the interviewer is to use interviewing skills training best practices to truly uncover the desired motivational, intellectual and interpersonal competencies that you require for them to succeed in your unique culture for the position.  Do not get fooled by good tales.