Career Articles

The Interview - Narration Time!

By Linda Schnabel, CRS, JCTC

No matter where you have been in your career or how impressive your roster of achievements, sweaty palms and interviews are usually synonymous!

That’s because as an interviewee, you are placed directly in the spotlight. Unlike a work setting where you have opportunity to show your competencies, an interview places you on center stage where you are required to tell or relate information that verifies these same skills. What is the best way to clearly narrate your strategic advantage? What words will persuade your interviewer that you are indeed a viable candidate?

To be honest, if you have failed to complete your homework prior to the interview, you significantly decrease your chances of creating a wow factor – really standing out as someone with a story to tell.

Successful interviews are the result of leveraging from a carefully built foundation that begins long before an invitation to narrate is accepted. Self-assessment is one of the main cornerstones of that foundation. With this in mind, here are a few questions to ask yourself when you are planning to interview:

• Have I clearly defined my skills and core values as they relate to my ideal role?
• Have I developed a victory log that reminds me of my most significant career achievements?
• Can I link key competencies to my achievements? In other words, what am I selling? How valuable are these skills to my market?
• Can I respond to behavioral questions with a real-life story that truly reflects the competencies for which the interviewer is seeking?
• Do I have a realistic sense of, not only my strengths, but also my weaknesses?
• In reviewing my history and achievements, have I developed sound bytes that I can quickly access?
• Do I understand how my personal style (or the way I relate to the world) impacts my work/team/leadership styles?

Since an interview is actually an opportunity for you to market yourself, it is important that you plan to assertively take an active role toward the final outcome. How can you ensure that this happens? A career coach can provide a safe forum in which you can answer the above questions, make lots of mistakes, perfect your strategy, and practice, practice, practice.

It’s hard to imagine Tiger Woods showing up for the Masters Tournament without having seriously practiced his swing. As an interviewee, the preparation/practice theory is no less true – in fact, maybe it’s more important! Why? Because Tiger has opportunity to show his competency; you, on the other hand, are required to tell about yours.

Linda Schnabel, is Principal of Career Works, a career management service for individuals and groups. As Career Professionals of Canada’s Certification Advisor and Chair of the Certification Committee, she has successfully established the Canadian Certified Resume Strategist Credential.