How to Tell Better Stories in Interviews

JOB SEARCH STRATEGY
When I Realized I Sucked At Storytelling.

I was on a road trip stuck in a car for four and a half hours with my parents, inlaws, and my very pregnant wife and I was worried about how we were going to pass the time together.

In my family, my Dad’s stories are a running joke.

They go on for hours, filled with side stories and unnecessary details that come out of nowhere.

To fill the car’s silence, my Dad told one of his tales.

At the start, I could see everyone was paying attention.

Fifteen minutes in, my mother-in-law turned to my wife and started a separate conversation.

The story kept going.

Thirty minutes in, I could see my father-in-law look out the window and tune everything out.

But the story kept going.

Fourty five minutes in, I could see my Mom fast asleep in the back seat with her head tilted back and mouth wide open.

THE

STORY

KEPT

GOING

What seemed like an hour later, the story finally reached its crescendo.

“And my brother ate a meatloaf sandwich,” my Dad said dramatically.

I turned to my Dad with my mouth wide open.

“That’s the end? Are you kidding me? You told a story for an hour about your brother eating a meatloaf sandwich?”

The entire car burst out laughing.

Growing up, I had always loved my Dad’s stories, but I realized at that moment that I didn’t know what good storytelling was.

I realized I sucked at storytelling because I had learned from a man who could talk for an hour about his brother eating a meatloaf sandwich.

Storytelling isn’t only helpful to parents trying to get their wide-eyed nocturnal four-year-old to sleep.

It’s a critical business function and something everyone should have in their career toolkit.

In the job search, being an effective storyteller lands more offers.

P.S. I used the tips in this newsletter to write the story above.

LEARN FROM THE BEST
Advice From The Master.

In a recent interview on Lenny’s Podcast, best-selling author, columnist, blogger, podcaster, playwright, and teacher Matthew Dicks shared his top tips to tell better stories.

Matthew has taught storytelling at Yale, MIT, Harvard, Purdue, Amazon, Salesforce, Slack, Lego, and many other groups worldwide.

If top CEO’s at massive companies trust him with their stories… you should to.

Let’s extract his wisdom to help you tell better stories on your job search and land more offers as a result.

STANDING OUT
Why Don’t People Tell Stories?

Storytelling sounds great, but are you willing to push through the discomfort of standing out from the herd?

In the job search, most people regurgitate facts or a list of bulleted accomplishments from their resume.

They do that because it’s easy, and everyone is doing it.

Most people fear drawing attention to themselves because we evolved to keep our heads down and not separate ourselves from the herd so we don’t get singled out and taken out by others.

But when you’re looking for a job the name of the game is standing out from the herd.

With the rise of remote work and application bots, we see thousands of applications for a single position.

The hiring manager won’t remember the list of accomplishments you rattle off from the resumes in the pile.

They will remember the compelling story you tell them about how you got to where you are today, how you have been kicking ass and taking names, why you have a personal tie to the mission of their business, and why now is the perfect time for you to drive a significant impact on their team.

STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION
Your 5-Second Moment.

Matthew says good stories are rooted in a five-second moment in your life.

That moment can be…

A Transformation: I once used to be one kind of person and now I’m a new kind of person.

Or

A Realization: I used to think something and then some stuff happened and now I think a new thing.

These moments of transformation are critical because change has universal appeal.

Not everyone will relate or resonate with a report on your career and your life.

But the emotional appeal and universal nature of change will make people connect to you.

Think about this whenever you’re asked, “So tell me about yourself.”

Don’t just list your accomplishments.

Instead, share a story about the transformation that you have been on, what you used to believe or who you used to be, and how that led you to this current moment of conversation with them.

STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION
Knowing the Ending.

When you’re telling a story about yourself, you know the ending because it happened to you.

So when telling a story, start with the opposite of the end of the story.

The easiest example of this is a romantic comedy.

Two people are not in love at the beginning of the movie, you know they’re going to be in love at the end of the movie.

For you as a job seeker, knowing the “ending” means understanding your career goals and how this particular job fits into that narrative.

Having the clarity of where this job is going to take you will help you shape your job search narrative and ensure it aligns with your long-term objectives and resonates with potential employers.

TELL IT LIKE YOU TALK
The Dinner Test.

In first grade we’re taught that it’s ok to start a story with, “BANG! The door opened.”

But you would never speak like that at a dinner party, so you should never tell a story that way.

I don’t think many people start their stories in interviews with, “BANG!” but the equivalent in the job search is using language or speaking in a way you wouldn’t normally speak.

People I have coached have a tendency to use industry jargon or become overly formal which comes across as rehearsed and ingenuine.

Instead, speak like you would to a friend or another person at dinner.

WHY THEY SHOULD CARE
What Are The Stakes?

Stakes are what your audience should be worried about, what they should want for you, what they should be concerned about, and what they should be wondering about.

Stakes are critical to any story because they’re the reason why someone should care what happens next.

This can be used masterfully when asked a question that starts with, “Tell me about a time you...”

The common framework people use to answer these questions is the STAR method.

STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result.

Most people describe the situation as, “There was this problem,” or “I was given this project” but they don’t give any stakes.

Why was solving that problem critical?

Why did it need to be solved now?

What was the impact to the business if it wasn’t solved?

What was the opportunity the business would have if it was solved?

Without the scope, scale, or impact of the problem, the listener has no reason to care and the work that you did doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

So make sure that your situation includes stakes and pulls the listener into a story about why your involvement in solving this problem was critical.

TYING IT TO THEM
Imagery & Relatable Situations.

The best thing that you can do in applications, networking conversations, and interviews is to make it about the person on the other side of the table.

Who are they and what have they done?

What are their problems?

What is their mission?

If you’re speaking about yourself the whole time the attention of the audience will fade.

But, if instead, you weave in imagery or situations that are relatable to that person’s background or the current or future state of the company, then the audience is included and engaged.

This is why doing research on all your interviewers and the company and the role is so important.

One way to tell a story would be to say, “I launched Uber in Upstate New York.”

Another way you could say it is, “Much like what Avo is going through right now with expansion from Israel into New York, I led the launch of Uber in Upstate New York and, Tom as you know from going to college at Syracuse, Upstate New York is it’s own snowy, low cell service world which presented challenges that we hadn’t faced before.“

In that one sentence, I showed I know the company I’m interviewing with is going through market expansion and related my experience directly to the challenges they’re facing right now.

I also showed my interviewer I did research on his background and knew where he went to college.

I might even get a chuckle out of Tom as he thinks about his time in college at Syracuse, trudging through feet of snow on his way to class.

To be memorable and draw your audience in, do your homework so you can tie situations or references to the company and your interviewers.

DONT BE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE
Benefits of Job Search Storytelling.

By using all of the tips above you can see how storytelling can set you apart from other candidates in the job search.

I can’t tell you how many forgettable candidates I’ve interviewed.

When their names came up in the interview debrief, I had to review my notes just to remember who they were.

Spoiler alert: Those people didn’t get the job.

Your job when networking and interviewing is to be memorable.

You will not be memorable by listing emotionless resume bullets.

You will be remembered if you become a student of storytelling.

OPEN ROLES
Who’s Hiring?

On LinkedIn this week I shared 15 of the 82 companies that made fundraising announcements totaling over $1.37B.

You can find the company details and open roles in the links below:

Fundraises announced Friday through Tuesday

Fundraises announced Wednesday

Fundraises announced Thursday

So there you have it, some of the keys to becoming a master storyteller and having your interview panel at the edge of their seats.

Regardless of whether you’re on the job hunt or not, I highly recommend everyone watch the full interview here.

Remember, if you’re not telling stories, you’re like everyone else… forgettable.

So tell better stories and land more offers!

Let’s become career champions together 🏆

Kyle