third way is to answer the question and include an example. Then, as you finish the story, state the specific strength you were emphasizing, and then add another strength. For example, if the interviewer had asked an interviewee whether she was a good team player, she would first describe what makes her a good team player and then back it up with an example. Once she finished telling the story she would state:
I think that experience demonstrates that I am a very good team player. I believe it also demonstrates that I’m a person who comes up with unique marketing ideas. On that project I listened to all of the ideas of the team and utilized the best ideas from everyone. When we met a couple of days later, I had incorporated those ideas and mixed them with some unique ideas of my own. The group really liked it and that’s what we went to management with. The product that came out of those marketing meetings has been one of our most successful products of the last five years.
Notice what the person did. She answered the question regarding being an excellent team player and provided a very good story to back it up. She then reminded the interviewer of what she had sold to him—proof that she was an excellent team player. This is important because sometimes interviewers actually forget the question they had asked you. When that happens, no matter how effective your answer is, you won’t get maximum points. So develop a habit of restating the strength you’ve just discussed in your answer. Having restated the strength, it was then appropriate for her to mention from her agenda, at least one other strength that the experience demonstrated. It can be as simple as saying, “So I am a very good team player, and I think that experience also demonstrates that I develop effective marketing ideas.”
The reason this technique works is that as soon as you mention the other skills that were being demonstrated in the example, the interviewer will instantly agree. This technique requires practice, so when you’re rehearsing, be sure to add those additional skills. You’ll get weight added to your side of the scale every time. If you have a friend act as your interviewer, be sure to practice it then also.
The Steps To Developing An Agenda
Below are the four steps needed to develop your agenda and to ensure that you fully sell yourself.
1) Identify Your Accomplishments And Skills
Identify your top 30-50 accomplishments (see pages 41-45). Remember that an accomplishment is any experience that you enjoyed, did well, or got satisfaction from. Pick twelve key accomplishments and write 100-400 words describing each experience. Identify 5-15 skills in each one. (See pages 46-48 for examples of describing experiences and identifying skills.)
After writing about your top twelve accomplishments, spend a couple of minutes with each remaining accomplishment and identify the 2-4 skills that jump out at you. The key here is to be quick and not get bogged down by spending more than two minutes with any of these remaining accomplishments. It might look like this:
| Skills Used | Accomplishment |
|---|---|
| Work effectively with computer programmers | Worked closely with a programmer to develop |
| Find more efficient ways to do things | a computer program that |
| Make things happen/take initiative | allowed for automatic |
| Work hard for my customers | reorders for a customer, a 38-store chain. |
By doing this, you will now have 30-50 stories to share in interviews. You will then be able to choose which story would best suit a particular question.
2) Identify Your Most Important Strengths
Identify and list the strengths, skills, and areas of experience you have that will virtually always be desirable for the types of positions you’ll be applying for. It can help to clip out want ads for desirable jobs to determine what employers are typically seeking. But don’t limit yourself to the ads. Ask yourself what personality skills (see pages 69-70), transferable skills, and technical/work content skills are important for success in your field. For more on transferable skills and work content skills, go to www.cmr-mvp.com and click on Books and Booklets. Prioritize these strengths. This will enable you to bring your top strengths into the interview at the earliest point possible.
Review your 30-50 accomplishments and determine which ones used the skills you most want to sell. The table on page 58 shows how this can be done. If you don’t have a good example for a particular skill from your list of 30-50, take a couple of minutes to recall the experience in which you best demonstrated that skill. Then write it down.
3) Practice Your Stories
Practice describing all of the accomplishments you think you might use in interviews. Practice so that for each accomplishment you have a one-minute, a two-minute, and a three-minute version. With your longer version you can add details that reveal more about the experience and more about you as a person. With a one-minute version you have to work hard to determine the most critical points. It takes effort to remove all but the most important points from a story. Use the two- or three-minute version when you believe it will best sell you and if the interviewer appears to have an adequate attention span.
4) Match Your Strengths And Stories With 40 Key Questions
Examine the following 40 questions which are all covered in detail in chapters 21-28. Determine which strengths and stories you would likely mention when asked those questions. In that way you’ll always mention your key strengths at the earliest opportunity.
Review the following questions. They come from the list of 101 toughest and most frequently asked questions. These are the most open-ended questions and the ones most likely to give you an opportunity to present the points you want to make.
1.Tell me about yourself.
2.What is your greatest strength?
3.What can you offer us that someone else can’t?
4.What are your three most important career accomplishments?
5.How would you describe yourself?
6.Why should I hire you?
7.Describe your biggest crisis in your life (or career).
8.What is unique about you?
26.What do you think determines a person’s progress with a good company?
27.Who has exercised the greatest influence over you?
32.What have you done to increase your personal development?
36.What was the most useful criticism you ever received?
37.What is the biggest change you’ve made in your life in the past ten years?
39.Can you work
