262: Interview Tip: Stop Telling These Stories About Yourself

Typically, there are two big seasons in anyone’s career development. The time from September to November when people are looking for a new job and want to make sure they reach their career goals before the year ends. The next time is from January to March when people are wrapped up in the excitement of the new year and want to start the year off with a great new job and a new beginning. 

But here is what’s holding you back. 

When interviewing for a new job or having internal conversations about a possible promotion, some of you are telling a horrible story about why you are the best person for the job!

In this episode, I’ll share my #1 pet peeve about how you tell your story and give you an immediate action tip to correct it and shift the energy in the room to get more hiring managers interested in who you are and what you do. 

Chapters

• 0:00 Mastering Your Interview Story Telling
• 4:20 Crafting a Compelling Interview Story
• 12:29 Navigating Your Mid-Career Success

Transcript

John Neral: 0:00

While you can find a job at any point in time during the year, there are typically two big seasons when most mid-career professionals try to accomplish that. Right now, between September and November, is when people are looking for a new job and want to make sure they reach their career goals before the year ends. The next time is from January to March. People are wrapped up and excited with the new year. They're ready to go after that new goal and want to start the year off with a great new job and a new beginning. But here's what's holding you back For some of you. When you're interviewing for a new job or having internal conversations about a possible promotion, some of you are telling a horrible story about why you're the best person for the job. I'm going to help you clear that up today. See, in this episode I will share with you my number one pet peeve about how you are telling your story and give you an immediate action tip to correct it, so you can shift the energy in the room and get more people interested in who you are and what you do. Let's get started. Hello, my friends, this is the Mid-Career GPS Podcast and I'm your host, John Neral. I help mid-career professionals like you, find a job they love or love the job they have. Using my proven four-step formula, I've got an exciting announcement I'm getting ready to share with you next week that will help you crush your next interview. It is one of the most exciting offers I've ever created and I cannot wait to share it with you. So stay tuned. I'll be announcing it here on the podcast, but if you want to get an even earlier look into it, you got to be on my email list Now. To join my email community. All you have to do is go to my website, https://johnneral. com. Right there on the homepage is a page for you to join my email community. I email everybody twice a week with different leadership and career tips. You can also get in my email community by downloading one of the many free resources I have there on my website, and when you become a member of my email community, you are the first to know about new products, new events and special offers, and I'd be honored to have you a part of that community. So all you need to do go to my website, https://johnneral. com. Come on into the free email community. I will see you on the inside. All right, let's talk a little bit about how you're interviewing.

John Neral: 2:50

I have been talking to a lot of people lately and engaging with more people on LinkedIn and there is one big question that is driving a lot of you nuts right now. You are wondering why you're not getting a call back after you've interviewed for a job or why you aren't getting a job offer. You're left wondering and confused about what's going wrong or why you aren't getting more hiring managers interested to invite you back for a follow-up conversation or get the job offer. Here's the thing. It is all in how you are telling your story and for some of you, y'all boring. You tell a boring story. There is nothing exciting about that story you are telling. Imagine sitting in the interview and you get asked that tell me about yourself question and you walk through every single job you have held and you go through every single title and position you've held and now you have bored the absolute daylights out of the hiring manager and they're like there's no way I can hire this person. Stop being boring. You have a story to tell. That story is yours and you need to be able to tell it better than anyone. And you should be able to tell it better than anyone because it's your story.

John Neral: 4:20

When I work with my clients privately and I get to know them, when we go through a series of exercises and we talk about their accomplishments and their achievements. Oftentimes there's a point where we will do a role reversal and I will say to them look, you be the interviewer, I'll be you. Here's how I would offer you to answer that question. And when I get done delivering that answer for them, they'll look at me and go can you just take the interview for me? It's a nice compliment, but no, I can't do that. You have to tell your story in a way that is engaging. See, if you don't believe your story, how the heck is someone else going to believe it? If you're not being your biggest advocate and cheerleader, no one's going to be that for you. Yes, you can have people in your network that care about you and support you and want you to do well. But there comes a time when you are sitting down with your supervisor and you're saying to them I'm ready to be promoted, I want more responsibility, I'm ready for a new challenge.

John Neral: 5:41

No-transcript when you go and interview at a new company and yes, competition is tough right now. Just because it's tough doesn't mean it's impossible and in the marketplace, competition for jobs has always been tough. It's nothing new, but what has changed is the dynamic of the interview. Companies want to know what you're going to do for them. How are you going to take your talent and expertise and leverage it in a way that they're going to be able to maximize it when you come into their company? Here's the tip I want to share with you. If your story is being told like you are reading from a job description, it is too boring. Don't do it. Here's what I mean. I've managed a team of five people. I use effective communication skills to deliver regular and timely feedback, and we are able to deliver our products on time and under budget. Yeah, job description written all over that. That's what they expect you to do.

John Neral: 7:05

Hiring managers want you to be able to talk about your results, your achievements, your accomplishments and, ultimately, here's what you need to make an engaging story. You need a hook. That hook is the thing that gets their attention. You need details. Think about it as coloring in between the lines so they have enough understanding or context about what it is that you do and, most importantly, how you help your current and soon-to-be future organization.

John Neral: 7:42

But here's the big question many of you miss why should they care? Think about it. Why should that person who's interviewing you care about what you do? There's a lot of people out there that do the same kind of work you do. Why should they care? Do the same kind of work you do? Why should they care? Why does your work matter differently or better than somebody else's? What is it that makes you different? Unique stands out over everybody else who does your job. Why should they care? What are you going to do for them? How are you going to help them? If you've listened to the podcast enough, you know I'm a big proponent that the brain is triggered very differently when it hears the word help, and that needs to be a word you communicate within your narrative. But how are you going to help them get the results they want? That job posting is a laundry list of problems they are asking you to solve. How are you going to help them get the results they want? That job posting is a laundry list of problems they are asking you to solve. How are you going to help them do that? Why should they care? Now, a hiring manager isn't going to come out and say, well, why should I care about you? But they're going to ask you questions like why should we hire you? What makes you different? What is the accomplishment you're most proud of? They want you to tell them what you're going to do for them, how you're going to help them.

John Neral: 9:24

But a bonus tip for you here is that when telling that story, you need to do it in a way where you don't sound convincing, desperate or needy. Nobody likes that. It's going to come out when you hear people say oh, I'm such a hard worker, give me a chance. Oh, I'm a really excellent communicator, people love working with me. Don't convince me. Give me examples. Tell me a time when you helped someone because you had to deliver difficult feedback. Tell me a time when you were working with a client and the client was looking to push the boundaries of the contract and you had to rope them back in. Tell me how you were able to retain a difficult client and now, all of a sudden, they've become your favorite client.

John Neral: 10:20

If your story doesn't have the hook to grab their attention, doesn't have the details to give them the context of how excellent you are at what you do and doesn't answer the question about why they should care about you and what you do. You are not telling a compelling enough story that is going to make them stop and take notice and want to learn more about you. They're either going to want to learn more about you in the context of that interview, they're going to invite you back or they're going to offer you a job. But how you tell your story is so key and pivotal right now in this market, and if you're not focusing on the results you've achieved for your current employer and past employers and how you're going to be able to deliver similar, if not better, results for your future employer, you're missing the boat. That needs to be part of your story.

John Neral: 11:21

So go out there and tell a better story. Practice, record it into your phone. Practice with somebody. Speak out loud when you're in the car by yourself and you're rehearsing that answer to a particular interview type question. Telling a much better story that is anchored in the results is what people are looking for right now. Go do that. Stop making your stories boring and make them more engaging and inviting. That hiring managers want to get to know you more.

John Neral: 11:54

All right, don't forget I've got an exciting new offer coming, all about interview prep, if you want to hear about it first. By all means, hop on my email list. Go to johnnarrellcom, sign up for my email. Community Details will be coming out in the next week, if not sooner, and until then, my friends, remember this you will build your mid-career GPS one mile or one step at a time, and how you show up matters Make it a great rest of your day. Matters, make it a great rest of your day.

John Neral: 12:29

Thank you for listening to the Mid-Career GPS Podcast. Make sure to follow on your favorite listening platform and, if you have a moment, I'd love to hear your comments on Apple Podcasts. Visit johnnarrellcom for more information about how I can help you build your mid-career GPS or how I can help you and your organization with your next workshop or public speaking event. Don't forget to connect with me on LinkedIn and follow me on social at John Darrell Coaching. I look forward to being back with you next week. Until then, take care and remember how we show up matters. Thank you.