To make your interview answers compelling and memorable, the stories you use to answer behavioral interview questions need to be more than just factual accounts of what you did and the results you achieved.
Just in case you’re not familiar with the term “behavioral interview questions,” these are the “Can you tell me about a time when….” questions that require you to describe an actual situation that provides evidence of your efficacy in that area.
SAR And STAR Are Not Enough
If you’ve done any research on how to answer these types of questions, you’ve undoubtedly come across the SAR or STAR models, where SAR stands for Situation Action and Result and STAR stands for Situation Task Action and Result.
While these are both useful frameworks to structure your story answers, they are missing a key component.
To make your story more compelling and memorable, you need more than these frameworks to guide your storytelling.
This is because your stories need to do more than give clear evidence of your ability and expertise.
They should also grab and hold the interviewer’s attention, making them want to know what happens next.
Think “Action Thriller” or “Mystery” rather than “Documentary”
While documentaries can be interesting, they typically don’t have the suspense or drama that a compelling movie or novel contains.
You want to think about the tension, conflict (or potential conflict), the dilemma you faced, and/or stakes involved in that experience.
Think about how you can include them to engage the interviewer and leave them wondering “What’s going to happen next?”
Doing this also makes your answer far more memorable, which helps separate you from other job applicants.
Include Concrete Details That Enable The Interviewer To Picture In Their Mind The Scenario You’re Describing
When you do this, it makes your story easier to understand and follow, because concrete, sensory words enable the listener to more easily imagine (picture) a scene than if we just use abstract language (e.g. “His eyes bulged and his face turned red” vs. “He got mad”).
Using concrete, sensory details helps make your story a true experience for the interviewer, and not just a mental activity, like a lecture.
It’s like the difference between presenters who use stories to make their point versus those who use only PowerPoint bullet points to communicate their ideas. The storytellers are easier to follow and understand, far more interesting, and far more memorable.
You probably don’t have any powerful memories of a particular PowerPoint slide you’ve seen, but you probably do have some of stories you’ve heard.
Give The Interviewer Insight into Your Thought Process
I think this is one of the true gamechangers in how informative, interesting, and memorable your stories will be.
Rather than telling a story that just report events, as indicated by the SAR or STAR models, add an “I” for Insights to your framework.
Give the interviewer insights into how you operate, how you make decisions, and why you approached a particular problem the way you do. Sharing these insights gives the interviewer valuable insights into how you think, approach challenges, and spot opportunities.
As you reflect on the situations you want to talk about in your job interviews, ask yourself what principles and “rules of engagement” guided your approach. Reflect on what variables you considered and how they informed your choice.
These are what I call your Process Insights. They explicitly identify the process you used to address the situation and get positive results.
These insights not only give the interviewer a more in-depth understanding of your expertise and wisdom, they make your story far more compelling, especially when you reveal insights the interviewer might not have gotten on their own.
One of things I tell clients is: “You want to have at least a couple of stories that leave the interviewer thinking ‘Wow…I never thought of that!” and “We could use that here!”
Stories that elicit that response are the gold standard when it comes to desirable stories to share. These stories not only make you more memorable, they also provide genuine value to the interviewer, as they truly are Teaching Stories.
Clearly Identify The Takeaway Messages You Want The Interviewer To Remember From Your Story
Don’t leave it up to the interviewer to infer the key points or insights you want them to glean from your story.
Tell them.
Your Takeaway Insights are, along with your Process Insights, the other component of the “I” in SARI model.
When your story is finished, share with them the key insights you want them to take away from your story.
Stating your key takeaways reflects lessons from the world of public speaking and from copywriting.
Students of public speaking are often coached to “Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Tell them and then tell them what you told them.”
This framework helps make it clear to the listener what’s important for them to understand and remember, rather than making the listener review and reflect in the moment the most salient points.
In the world of copywriting, experts deliver a similar message: Tell the reader what key takeaway points you want them to extract from your website copy, email, or—in the pre-Internet days—sales letter.
Don’t leave it up to them to infer your message, or…come up with a different and counterproductive message.
State clearly what you want them to think and remember about what you wrote.
You want to do the same thing in your stories
Let them know what your story will illustrate, tell it, and then summarize the key points you want them to remember.
Here’s an example of the above in action.
We will start with the initial story and then tell the story in a way that integrates the key points we’ve discussed. The story we will use is an adaptation of one I heard from a client during our interview preparation.
Story Version 1.0
Let’s say you are asked: “Can you tell me about a time you had a disagreement with your manager and how you handled it.”
You are in the banking industry and answer the question with this story:
The owner of a small, growing business came to me for a loan. He was at a pivotal point in his business. He needed a loan to purchase a large amount of inventory to service an order a potential client had approached him about fulfilling.
If he could get the order, the profit from that order would enable him to fund significant expansion of his business.
The amount of credit he was asking for was large for the size of his business, but I could see the potential and thought it represented appropriate risk for the potential reward.
When I brought it to my manager, he didn’t agree. I tried to get him to see that the risk/reward was reasonable but… his risk tolerance was lower than mine, and so he said we couldn’t make the deal.
I went back and reviewed the numbers and explored other options. After sorting through different approaches and running them by the business owner, I came up with describe the creative solution you came up with that would address the business owner’s needs and satisfy my manager’s level of risk tolerance.
I went back to my manager and described the new options that would do a better job of mitigating risk and he signed off on it.
Notice how this is a very bare bones description of what happened. It follows the classic SAR or STAR format.
It’s like a just-the-facts documentary film.
Story Version 2.0
Now, let’s retell the story and add some drama and detail to make it come alive, along with Process Insights (aka the “method behind your madness”) and Takeaway Insights (aka the key takeaways you want them to remember).
Here’s an example of both how I resolved a difference of opinion with my manager and also learned a great lesson about making sure to frame my recommendations in terms that resonate with the other person’s perspective and values rather than my own… (note: you’re letting them know up front the themes and key takeaways. This helps frame the story from the outset).
Here’s what happened…
The owner of a small, growing business came to me for a loan.
He was at a pivotal point in his business.
A potential customer had approached him with a large order.
It was large enough to be a game-changer in his business, but… he didn’t have enough capital to purchase the raw materials he would need to service the order. (note: you have a bit of drama here, which will hopefully make the story more interesting to the interviewer)
If he could get the order, the profit would give him enough capital to make a significant expansion in his business, so securing this loan was critical for the growth of his business.
The amount of credit he was asking for was large for the size of his business, but given the upside that I saw, I thought it represented appropriate risk given the potential reward.
As a former business owner, I could see the tremendous potential in his business and how this loan, and the deal it made possible, could be just the platform he needed to take his business to the next level.
This experience is actually one of the ways I believe I would provide extra value in this position, as I’ve found it enables me to see things and have insights that someone without that experience is unlikely to… (note: here you’re pausing to “connect the dots” between the story and the job you are applying for. You’re showing how your background, which includes experience other candidates probably don’t have, enables you to provide unique value)
So… I put together a thorough proposal, where I addressed the risk, but also emphasized the potential rewards and why I thought it would be wise for us to give the business owner the loan.
I have to admit, I was pretty proud of how thorough my assessment and reporting was. (note: a little self-deprecating humor can add to the listener’s enjoyment).
Unfortunately, my manager wasn’t as impressed (note: surprise, drama, and wry humor).
In his eyes, the risk was too much, regardless of the potential reward.
He nixed the deal.
As I mentioned, I had experience as a business owner but my manager didn’t, so my view of the opportunity was different.
I truly believed that it was a great investment and that it could also be a game-changer for the business owner.
I found myself in one of those situations where I truly believed I was right, but obviously understood my boss gets the final say and that pressing my case could be seen as inappropriate. (Note: this Process Insight gives the interviewer information into how you see the supervisor/supervisee relationship. It gives clues that you would not be a “problem child” but also not a “Yes Person” who is unwilling to advocate for ideas they believe are valuable.)
At the same time, I wanted to make sure I did right by both the business owner and our bank, so the idea of simply saying “Okay” and stopping there wasn’t appealing either. I truly believed this was a solid loan that would benefit both. (Note: This is another Process Insight, where you are sharing with the interviewer your thought process, which can include guiding principles you operate by, key values you have, and mental SOPs you use when addressing a particular situation. It also gives a glimpse into your values)
So…rather than folding up my tent and going home, I thought that maybe if my manager did a site visit with me and saw what I saw in terms of the quality of the operation and the business owner, he would have more of the context I was using to base my assessment.
This is something I’ve found over the years to be helpful when discussing options and making decisions…make sure you give them the context they need to understand why you think the way you do…rather than just tell them your recommendation… (Note: here’s another Process Insight that offers useful information about how you operate.)
My manager, being open-minded, was willing to continue the conversation, so we visited the business.
Despite this, my manager said he still felt the risk made the loan untenable. To him, regardless of the potential upside, the risk was unacceptable.
As I reflected on our conversations related to the loan, I realized I was making my argument from MY perspective and what I could see, and NOT framing it in terms of what my manager saw and believed was most important…which was minimizing risk. (Note: here’s another Process Insight).
So… I went back and explored financing options that would address what was most important to him: reducing risk.
After sorting through different approaches and running them by the business owner to find out which ones he could accept, I came up with describe the creative solution you came up with that would address the business owner’s needs and could satisfy my manager’s level of risk tolerance.
This time, it successfully addressed my manager’s concerns and he signed off on it.
I’m happy to say that business is still alive and thriving to this day.
So that’s an example of my approach to having a disagreement with my manager and how I try to do what I think is the right thing while at the same time respecting my boss’s position as having the final say. (Note: now we are into Takeaway Insights)
It’s also an example of a “lesson learned” in my career where I recognized the importance of not getting locked into my own perspective and presenting my ideas from that perspective because it makes sense to me, but instead…making sure I focus on the other person’s perspective and then frame my requests and recommendations from that point of view, rather than from mine. (Note: this Summary Insight shows you have the ability to self-reflect and learn from your experiences)
It is also an example of how I try to blend persistence with creativity and thoughtfulness…in other words…I didn’t just give up when my boss said “No.” I also didn’t just keep arguing my point but instead regrouped and reconsidered my approach so it would resonate with his values and criteria.
I’ve found this to be helpful over the years, not just in my ability to collaborate with my manager, but with other stakeholders. (note: this final Summary Insight helps the interviewer expand the application of your story to your overall ability to work well with others).
Your Key Takeaway Insights from This Article
- Make Your Story More Like a Mystery or Action Thriller Than a Documentary by adding tension and drama. You do this by pointing out aspects of the situation like how high the stakes were if the situation went wrong, conflict between key players in the scenario, and details of what made it so challenging.
- Make Your Story Easier to Follow and More Interesting by Making It Easy for The Interviewer to Picture It in Their Mind by adding visual details, and…if relevant…auditory details (e.g. someone shouting).
- Make Your Story More Compelling and Information Rich by Including Process Insights that shed light on your thought process as you navigated the situation. This can also include important guiding principles, frameworks, and heuristics you use in these types of situations.
- Finish Your Story with a Summary of Takeaway Insights that you want the interviewer to recognize and remember.
- Go Through Your Library of Stories and Make Sure You Have a Few That Are Likely to Leave the Interviewer thinking “Wow…I never thought of it that way! I want to remember that!” and “Wow…we could use someone who thinks like that here!”If you would like help with this as well as more guidance on how to excel in your job interviews, feel free to reach out for a 20-30 minute introductory call or Zoom.
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