Use Stories to Ace Your Next Interview

Read time: 3 minutes 38 seconds

Hey there 👋 - it's Abbhi

Welcome to Career Confidence 🤝 

👋 to everyone reading this newsletter and gaining confidence in your career.

Today I'll discuss how to use stories to land your target job (& not be forgotten).

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Alright, let's dive into the how to tell stories in your next interview (and not sounds like a 🤖)

Why Do You Need to Tell Stories?

Most jobseekers bored the heck out of their interviewers…

If the interviewer can’t remember you, then you’ve already lost. You gotta create a connection. You have to stay entertaining.

How do you entertain? Through stories.

Stories are everywhere…

If you wanna keep talking like a 🤖🤖🤖 ignore this advice.

But if you wanna be remembered, keep reading.

Let’s start with the basics…

You Gotta Practice Your Stories

Write 1-2 stories for each qualification and relate your stories to your target role.

Use frameworks like:

• SPARL

• CARL

• STAR

Why use frameworks? They’re easy to remember. They’re comprehensive. And they’re concise.

Let’s dive into SPARL…

Use SPARL to Structure Your Answers

(1) Situation: Set the stage

(2) Problem: Talk about the challenges

(3) Action: Discuss your actions to address the problem

(4) Results: Share the results of your actions

(5) Learning: Connect what you learned to the target job

Let's talk through an example story:

Tell me about a conflict with a team member?

👇

Step 1: Set the Situation

You need to give context.

Here’s my situation:

I was helping a B2B SaaS company with its go-to-market strategy. They needed help researching their competitors.

This sets the stage for the rest of the story.

Step 2: Address the Problem

Discuss the problem you faced...

Here’s my problem:

A team member explained how they wanted to research competitors. I upset them because I didn't follow their guidance.

This pulls your interviewer into the story.

Step 3: Discuss How Your Actions Address the Problem

Here are my actions:

I listened to my team member’s perspectives and told them I adjusted my research based on my initial findings.

P.S. Use ‘I’ instead of ‘we’ when you discuss your actions.

Step 4: Discuss Your Results

Results show the impact of your actions.

Here are my results:

We resolved our issues and understood each other's perspectives. We moved forward with my research and added my team’s feedback.

Interviewers care about results.

Step 5: Summarize What You Learned

Here’s what I learned:

I learned to trust my team’s guidance and to ask questions instead of continuing to work alone.

Interviewers love continued learning.

Show you learn from every situation.

TL;DR: Use SPARL to Tell Your Stories in Interviews

• Situation

• Problem

• Action

• Result

• Learn

Now...

Wanna dive even deeper into these topics? (& ace your next interview?)

» Get instant access to my interview prep & storytelling guide (for $0)

It’s been used by 100+ jobseekers to get Fortune 500 interviews in < 3 months.

P.S.

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