Let’s be honest for a minute. Your resume tells a hiring manager that you can handle what the job description entails. The interview is only partially about qualifications. What separates a great interview from a mediocre one is generally in the quality of stories you can tell.

I like to keep job interviews chatty and conversational, rather than truly question and answer. However, there is one question I ask in almost every interview. It gives the candidate an opportunity to brag about themselves and gives me insight into their accomplishments that I wouldn’t get otherwise. I ask, “What is the single professional accomplishment you are most proud of?”

You shouldn’t tell a hiring manager what you would do when posed a question, but rather you should tell them what you have done in that situation before. If you tell me how you’ve done this before, it makes it clear to me that you can do it again. It takes your skill from theoretical to accomplished.

The key to telling great stories in the interview is preparation. 

1. Make note of your best success stories. Here are some common questions to get you started. What professional accomplishment are you most proud of? What has been the greatest obstacle you’ve had to overcome professionally? Whose career have you helped by providing mentorship or coaching? What problems have you solved that seemed to leave others perplexed? What do your colleagues call out as your greatest strengths? What led to them saying that?
2. Categorize your stories (most will fit more than one category). For these stories, take a moment and think of them in categories that might come up in an interview. Many of your stories and past experiences could be appropriate for more than one category. The goal is to have at least 1-2 stories and specific examples that you could use in each category. Here are some common themes of questions that will get you off to a great start.
   • People Development
   • Conflict Resolution
   • Solving Business Problems
   • Team Development
   • Improvements or New Processes
   • Turning around a difficult customer
   • Managing multiple or conflicting priorities
   • Sales growth or exceeding targets
   • Handling a failure
3. Practice telling your stories with the START method. Once you know which stories will help you stand out in your interview, practice telling them. You may have heard of the STAR method, but I would suggest taking it one step further with the START method.
   • Situation – briefly paint the picture of the context in which the story happened. Be cautious here not to paint the previous employer in a negative light.
   • Task – explain what you were working to accomplish.
   • Action – explain what you did. Try to focus on actions you took specifically, rather than things done by a full team.
   • Result – explain the outcome. Did you accomplish the target?
   • Takeaway – explain what you learned. Would you do something different next time?
4. Keep your stories concise. Rehearsing these stories and following the START method will help you crush it! Keep your answers to around 60-90 seconds. That should be enough time to convey the relevant details, but quick enough that you don’t lose them in your answer.
5. Keep your stories relevant. Recently, when I asked the greatest accomplishment question, I had a candidate tell me about an email that he helped write. I could tell the story was impactful to him, but it wasn’t relevant to the position we were discussing. Unless you’re interviewing for a marketing or copywriting role, that story isn’t particularly compelling. Make sure your stories are relevant to the work that you are discussing.

One of the benefits of working with a professional talent recruiter as a job candidate is that we will prepare you in advance for interviews. We have plenty of advice to share when it comes to the interview process, interview tips, common interview questions, and even conducting mock interviews. If you are on the market for your next job opportunity, check out our job board and contact me if you see a position that might be a fit in your job search. I look forward to assisting with career advice and helping you achieve the next step in your career path!